The officers of tlie " National Association of Wool Manufac- 
turers " having procured, at the expense of the Association, extra 
copies of the within Report, prepared and published under the 
direction of the Department of State, take pleasure in placing in 
the hands of the members of the Association, and of others 
interested in the production and manipulation of Wool, an 
important contribution to the history of the Wool industry of the 
United States and Europe. 



PAEIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION, 1867. 
REPORTS OF THE UNITED STATES COMMISSIONERS. 



REPORT 



UPON 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL, 



BY 



E . R . 1VI U D a E , 

UNITED STATES COMMIiSSIONER, 



ASSISTED BY 



JOHN L. HAYES, 

SKCRETARY OF THE "NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOOL MANUFACTURERS " 




3^--- 



I 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINT TNG OFFICE 
1 868. 



\ 






/ 



'^■'vt*^ 



f;- 



^51^ 



CONTEITS. 



SECTIOX I. 

WOOL AND ITS CULTURE. 

Varieties of wool in European markets — Necessity of protection to American wools — Cloth- 
ing wools — Silesian and Prussian clothing wools — Culture of fine clothing wools in the 
United States desirable — American clothing wools — Vermont sheep in demand in Austra- 
lia — Merino combing wools — Sheep husbandry in France — English combing wool — Che- 
viot sheep — Problems to be resolved in American sheep husbandry — Vast scale of sheep 
husbandry in Russia — Exemption of duties on sheep imported for breeding. — pp. 6-17. 

SECTIOIS" II. 

WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES— COMPARISON OF EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN 

MANUFACTURTES. 

Antiquity of fabrication in Europe — Characters of woolly fibre — Consumption of the world — 
Characteristic fabrics of eastern nations — England — Belgium — Prussia — Austria — Russia — 
Relative rank of nations in production of woollen fabrics — Awards to leading centres of 
European production— Characteristics of American fabrics — Marked excellence in card- 
wool fabrics — Fancy cassimeres, shawls, flannels, cloakings — American carpets — Evidences 
of progress within five years — Awards of medals to American manufacturers — Award of 
grand prize to Pacific mills — Statements of the management of those mills — Principles 
upon which New England mills were founded — Mr. Nathan Appleton's statement — Rela- 
tive cost of production in the United States and Europe — Equality in skill, machines, 
and efficiency of labor — Disadva»itages of cost of capital and labor — Necessity of pro- 
tective duties to neutralize European advantages — Relations of American sheep husbandry 
to American manufactures. — pp. 17-32. 

THE WOOLLEN INDUSTRY OP EUROPE. 

French woollen fabrics at the Exposition — Distribution of groups of manufacturing establish- 
ments in France — General features of French industry — Contributions of French inven- 
tions and fabrics to the woollen industry — Culture of taste in France — Schools of design 
at Lyons — Progress of the art of dyeing in France — Colbert's regulations — Discovery of 
steam colors — Discov^ery of artificial ultra-marine — Improvements in madder dyes — French 
purple — Discovery of murexide — The aniline colors. — pp. 32-44. 

CFTARACTERISTIC CENTRES IN FRANCE. 

Elbeuf. — The great centre of the fancy cassimere manufacture — Designers — Echantilleurs — 
Facilities for credit — Separate establishments devoted to single processes of manufacture — 
Wages and condition of industrial population. — pp. 45-49. 

Sedan. — The centre of fine cloth manufacture — Invention of fancy cassimeres — Suppression 
of drunkenness — Wages and condition of industrial population. — pp. 49, 50. 

Region du Midi. — Centre of manufacture of fabrics for common consumption — Production of 
peculiar fabrics for the Levant — For the army — Workshop nurseries— Singular features of 
military establishment of Villeneuvette — Wages and condition of workmen. — pp. 50-53. 

Rheims. — A centre of combing wool industry — Fabrication of merinos — Improvements in 
combing wool — Power-loom weaving applied to merinoes — Dependence upon the United 



IV CONTENTS. 

States — Advantatves of nndertakiug the merino manufacture in the United States — Wages 

and condition of workmen. — pp. 5:^-55. 
Cateau. — Immense establishment — Perfection of machinery and processes — Wages and 

condition of workmen. — pp. 55-57. 
EouBAix. — The rival of Bradford — History of its growth — Pnblic sentiment opposed to the 

Anglo-French treaty — Faithfulness of fabrication — The profitableness of manufacturing 

light fabrics for female consumption — Wages and condition of industrial population. — pp. 

57-60. 

OTHER EUKOPEAN NATIONS. 

Belgium, Germany, and Austria.— Productions, and rates of wages. — pp. 60, Gl. 

Great Britain. — Growth of the cities of the West Riding — Bradford, Leeds, Hudderstield, 
Halifax — Statements of value of British woollen manufacture in 1861 — Wages and condi 
tion of workmen — Decline of arts in England — Cause of decline ; Production to supply the 
markets of the world — Duties of American manufacturers. — pp. 62-66. 



APPENDICES. 

Page. 

A. American Merinos. — Prepared by request for the report, by Hon. Henry S. 

Randall, LL.D., president of National Wool Growers' Association 67 

B. The Angora Goat: its Origin, Culture, and Products, by John L. 

Hayes, secretary of the National Association of Wool Manufacturers 81 

C. The Wool best ADAPTED to various Manufactures 107 

D. Combing Wool in the United States. Letter of Mr. Joseph Walworth. 118 

E. Woollen Manufactures in the United States 1*22 

F. The Woollen and Worsted Trade of Great Britain 131 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 



INTRODUOTIOX. 

The preparation of a report upon wool and mannfaetures of wool liaving- 
been committed to the undersigned, it was his original i^urpose to limit 
himself to giving the general imi)ressions made at the Universal Exposi- 
tion of 1807 upon a business man greatly interested in, rather than techni- 
cally informed as to, the woollen manufacture and the raw material 
supi)lying it. But in conformity with the views of the Department of 
State, that a report relating to so important a branch of national industry 
might take a wider scope A^ith advantage to the public interests, the 
undersigned has consented to modify his original purpose, by adding to 
his i)ersonal observations more general vieAvs as to the present condition 
of the woollen industry at home and abroad, and such statistical state- 
ments, obtained from the most recent and authoritative sources, as would 
tlirow light upon its economic and social relations. In the ju'eparation 
of this work he has been assisted by Mr. John L. Hayes, secretary of the 
]!!5^ational Association of Wool Manufactiu^ers, to whom the literarv 
execution of the report has been intrusted. 



SECTION I. 
WOOL AND ITS CULTURE 

Varieties of wool in European markets — Necessity of protection to Ameri- 
can WOOLS — Clothing wools— Silesian and Prussian clothing wools — Cul- 
tuke of fine clothing wools in the United States desirable— American 
clothing wools — Vermont sheep demanded in Australia — Merino combisg 
WOOLS— Sheep husbandry in France. — English combing wool — Cheviot 
sheep — Problems to be resolved in American sheep husbandry — Vast scale 
OF sheep husbandry in Russia — Exemption of duties on sheep imported for 
breeding. 

To coinmence witli tlie raw material, tlie first iinpressioii made 
ui)ou an American mannfacturer by an observation of tlie woollen 
manufactures of Europe, as displayed at tlie Exi)osition, is the im- 
measurable advantage Avhicli the woollen manufacturer of Europe has 
in the command of an unlimited supply of wool, and other raAv 
material of every variety, free of duty. The policy of the modern 
governments of Europe, unrestrained by any regard for the opinions 
or x^rejndices of agriculturists so controlling here, is first and foremost 
to develop the manufactures of their several countries. Freedom from 
duties on raw material and breadstuffs is but one mode of protec- 
tion. The necessity for duties on wool as a measure of encouragement 
to the w^ool-grower has passed aAvay. Sheep husbandry in Europe could 
not be extended by protective duties, as all the land that could be pro- 
fitably devoted to this piu^pose is already occupied. England has one 
sheep to one and three-ciuarters of an acre of land, while Ohio and Ver- 
mont have one to four and a half acres, New York one to six and a half 
acres, Iowa one to twenty-four acres, and the whole United States 
one to fifty-seven acres. The perfection to which the leading varie- 
ties of European wools has attained removes them from all compe- 
tion, and renders protective duties unnecessary. No lustrous combing 
wools can compete with the Lincoln, Leicester, and Cotswold wools of 
England; no clothing wools Avith the Saxon and Silesian avooIs of Ger- 
many; no soft combing wools Avith those of the liambouillet stock of 
France. The culture of the latter avooIs was developed by protection 
until their excellence relicA^ed them from competition, and even the 
agriculturists of France assented to the abolition of the duty on avooI. 
The great centre of distribution for the great part of the avooI of the 
world, not consumed at home, is Phigland, the distribution being faAored 
by her warehousing system. All the avooI manufiicturers of Europe are 
gathered at the annual sales at London. The European supi)ly of raw 
material constitutes but an inconsiderable portion of the consumption o\' 
Europe. The im])()rtations have increased Avith marvellous ra])idity. 

The importations of avooI into England a little OAcr oO years ago, viz. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 7 

ill 1830, were, in round numbers, from Germany, 74,000 bales; from Spain 
and Portugal, 10,000 bales; the British colonies, 8,000 bales; sundry 
other places, 5,000 bales ; total, 08,000 bales ; and yet at that period, as 
appears fi'om the testimony before the House of Lords, in 1828, every 
Avarehouse in England was lilled with wool, and stocks Avere l}ing on hand 
for five or six years. In 1801 there were imported, from Australia, 30-J,000 
bales; from the Cape of Good Hope, 08,000 bales; from South America, 
99,000 bales; and 219,330 bales fr^om other sources — in all, 688,336 bales. 
Australia now sui)plies more than three times the whole amount of fcu'eigii 
wool consumed in p]ngland a third of a century ago, and the production 
of South America exceeds the whole consumption then. The advantages 
which the European manufacturer enjoys over the American in the com- 
mand of an unlimited supply of every variety of avooI cannot be over- 
estimated. The range of fabrication of the American manufacturer in 
clothing and combing wools is limited to the produce of American flocks, 
under the almost prohibitory duty upon those avooIs. The Eiux)i)ean can 
select from the x>eculiar products of CA^ery climate and soil of the AA'hole 
Avorld, AA^hich are i^oirred into the great centres of distribution at London 
and LiA erpool. Hence the infinite a- ariety of European manirfactures so 
conspicuous at the Exposition, and hence the cai)acity of the European 
manufacturer to relicAe himself from home competition by changing at 
pleasure the character of his fabrics. It is true that the American is able 
to contend with the European manufacturer, Avho has his ayooI free of 
duty, by receiving the imposition of a specific duty on foreign cloths just 
sufficient to reimburse the duties on wool. Without this neutralizing 
duty the American could not Uac for a day, and aa ith it he still suffers in 
the limitation of his supply of raw material. 

By these obserA ations upon the present comparatiA' e adA^antages of the 
American and foreign manufacturer in the supi)ly of raAV material, it is 
not to be inferred that the undersigned would adA ocate the application 
to this country of the British system of x)rotection by the free admission 
of raAV materials which can be adA'antageously produced here, or that he 
AYOuld for a moment maintain that the Avool-grower can obtain sufficient 
encoiu^agement through the protection of the manufactiu^er. The highei* 
demands of American cIa ilization require that all oui* industries should 
be defended against the cheap capital and labor of competing nations. 
The labor which i)roduces the wool cannot be distinguished from that 
which spins and AveaACS it. Considerations of national independence 
require us to seek to the utmost possible extent all our supplies from 
domestic sources. The Avoollen manufacturer has the best assurance of 
permanent prosperity aa hen he can look to an uuinterru])ted supply of 
Avool from sources not liable to be cut oft' by Avar, famine, pestilence, or 
l)olitical revolutions abroad. The American avooI manufacturer, no less 
than the wool-grower, has the only market for his fabrics at home, and 
can have a profitable market only when all the industry of the country 
is i)rofitably occupied. The system of political economy essential to 



8 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

iudustrial prosperity in this country demands tliat the claims of the wool- 
groAver and manufacturer should he equully respected. If any views here 
presented should he regarded as suggestive of a change of the system of 
duties now prevailing, they should he regarded as addressed to American 
wool-growers alone, with the distinct acknowledgment that it is tlieii- 
right, after intelligent considtation with the representatives of kindred 
industries, to demand the duties which they shall judge to be necessary 
for the protection of their oavu. 

CLOTiima WOOLS. 

To return to the wools displayed in the great a\ arehouses of Europe, 
and exhibited at the Exposition. The American manufacturer is struck 
by the A ariety of w^ooLs, not j)roduced abundantly here, and lirst with the 
Silesian and Saxony clothing ayooIs of Germany, the fleeces small and 
the fibre exceedingly fine, and marked by the <listinctness and number 
of its cmwes or wrinkles; the staple A^ery short, the wools distinguished 
for their felting qualities, both the fineness and shortness of staple being 
essential qualities for the fine broadcloths and doeskins, for Avhich the 
German manufacturers are so distinguished. These avooIs haA^e the 
highest price of any grown. The avooIs of Prussia of this character 
were A^ery remarkable, and among them those exhibited by Mr. Dopping, 
of Silesia, are Avorthy of especial mention for their shortness and the 
distinctness of the ciu^ves, which Avere so shari)ly defined as to give the 
impression that they had been artificially crimped. Xext to these, and 
scarcely inferior, are some of the Australian wools, which were distin- 
guished for the same qualities of fineness of fibre and shortness of staple, 
and equally obserA^able for their admirable condition, evincing the care 
Avith Avhich they are Avashed and put up. These avooIs Avere exhibited in 
such quantities as to giA^e one the impression of passing through the 
warehouses of London. Next in quality are the Cape avooIs. La st among 
the fine clothing avooIs in quality and price are those of Bnenos Ayres. 
Tlie German and Australian wools exhibit the highest existing tyi)e of 
the product of the merino race. In their cidture weight of fleece is neACi- 
sought for. The efforts of the grower are dcA^oted solely to producing 
fineness of fibre and shortness of staple. Without the command of avooI 
of this character for filling it is hopeless to attempt the manufacture of 
the best face goods, such as broadcloths and doeskins. Oui" foreign 
importation of German cloths is mainly confined to the black broadcloths, 
cassimeres, and doeskins made from these avooIs. There is no difticult\ 
in commanding the skill required for this manufacture, as is CAdnced by 
the goods exhibited by Mr. Slater, of Rhode Island. All the difiicnlties of 
manufacture can be surmounted by tlie importation of German Avorkmeii. 
ScA'eral hundred sets of machinery could be oecui)ied here in the manu- 
facture of these goods, demanded for home consiunptioii. The Avari)s. 
Avhich couhl be made of such American fleece as is uoav gi'o\vn here, 
AYonld take up tAvo-fifths of the avooI required for this manufacture. This 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 9 

would be so much added to the demand for this charac^ter of wool. The 
relief afforded to the manufaeturer, by being able to vary his fabrics^ 
would diminish the competition among those compelled to manufacture 
only one style of goods, and, giving more profits to the manipulator of 
the wool^ woidd seciu'e better prices to the wool-grower. The great 
problem to be solved in the clothing- wool industry in this country is how 
these wools shall be secured. The wool-growers assert that they can 
be grown in this country, and this is by all means the most desirable 
source from which they could be obtained. The success in certain dis- 
tricts in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, in fonner times, is an 
assurance that they can be groAvn. The present supply is altogether 
insufficient for any progress in the fi^ne cloth manufacture. It is grati- 
fying to learn that importations are being made of the best Silesian stock. 
It is the duty of the manufacturer to encourage these efforts by discrimi- 
nating in his prices for the finest wools. The gTowth of these avooIs is 
not a question of soil or climate, but of profit. If these desired wools are 
more remunerating than others, they are certain to be produced. But 
the solution of the problem Avhether we shall manufacture fine broad- 
cloths in this country depends mainly upon the wool-growers. It is for 
them to decide whether or not these wools shall be groAvii here ; if not^ 
whether they shall be admitted at a moderate duty. If the 3)roduct of 
the finest wooUed sheep is too small to admit of profit in their culture, the 
only objection to their growth here, it is worthy of serious consideration by 
the great body of American wool-groAvers Avhether their own interests, by 
the gxeater consimiption of wool, which can be profitably grown by mix- 
ture Avith foreign fine aa^ooIs, aa^ouUI not be secured by admitting, at a mode- 
rate duty, the highest priced Gennan and Australian avooIs, not includhiff 
such as the mestiza, which compete Avith the wools grown here. Any 
movement for the development of this important branch of manufacture, 
Avhether by the gTOAvth of the desirable avooIs, theii* admission at a lower 
rate of duty, or by a higher specific duty upon extra fine avooI cloths, 
nuist emanate from the AAool-groAvers, for it is better that the manufac- 
ture of the highest clothing wools should be abandoned than that the 
harmonious arrangements between the agricultural and manufacturing 
branches of the woollen interest, so essential to its stability, should be 
disturbed. 

A3IERICAN CLOTHINCi WOOLS. 

It should be (clearly understood that the wools above referred to are 
desirable as an addition to, and not as a substitution for, the great bulk 
of the present American fleeces. The annual production of wool in 
the United States AA^as estimated, in ISfJO, at 95,000,000 pounds; and 
it is estimated that this constitutes about 70 per cent, of the wool manu- 
tactured in this country— this wool being the product of 30,000,000 
sheep, consuming 30,000,000 bushels of corn. Our domestic fleece is, 
therefore, the chief source of our supply. Tliis avooI is mainly of a 



10 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

medmm quality, aud is produced from grades of the merino race. 
Witli tlie increasing growth of the country the demand for this wool 
should proportionally increase. Its great value for the purposes foi- 
which it is generally used is shown in the excellence of our i)eculiar 
American fal)rics, to be hereafter referred to. There is reason to believe 
that the yield of scoured wool, of a medium character, from sheep of the 
race now recognized as the American merino,^ which has originated in 
Vermont, is greater than has been obtained from sheep of the merino 
blood in any country except those of France. Manufacturers are apt to 
complain of the greasy character of this wool — a complaint too Avell 
founded with respect to avooI produced from show sheep ; sufftcient 
development of yolk is, however, essential to the greatest yield in wool. 
It is for the interest of the manufacturer and of the country that the 
system of (culture should be pursued by the wool-grower which shall 
produce the greatest amount of clean wool with the greatest economy 
to the wool-grower. The wool-growers, through their associations, 
which are now being extensively formed and conducted with an intelli- 
gence displayed in no other department of agriculture, will determine 
how far this i)roduction of yolk can be carried with idtimate profit, and 
whether the evil of excessive yolk, if it is one, may not be corrected 
by the infusion of blood of another stock. A very interesting and 
instructive fact in favor of the American merino has been stated, while 
this paper was being x^repared, by Mr. Bowes, the eminent wool dealer 
of Liverpool, viz : ^' That Vermont bucks are now being selected to give 
body and quality to the degenerated wools of New Zealand." 

aVIERINO CO]VIBING WOOLS. 

Conspicuous among the wools displayed at the Exi^osition were those 
of the merino race, distinguished for the softness and length of fibre. 
Those from France and Australia were the most noticeable. The wools 
of this kind from Australia having been derived from the French stock, 
the length of fibre, enabling these wools to be combed, adapts them for 
the beautiful dress goods for female wear, such as thibets and cashmeres 
and merinos, which are the most characteristic fabrics of the present 
century. The wool of this character produced in France siu-passes that 
of any other country, and its i)OSsession has caused France to take the 
lead in this manufacture, Avhich Avas not attemi)ted in England until the 
wools from Australia were seen to develop similar (pialities. 

M. Benoville, in his admirable essay ui)on the combing wools of 
France, remarks : 

" There are two facts we ought to proclaim abroad. The first is, that 
without the introduction of the Spanish race into our flocks, and with- 
out all the skill of our agriculturists, Ave should still vegetate in depend- 
ence upon neighboring nations, and should be reduced to clothe ourselves 

1 See article in the Appendix upon the "American Merino," by Dr. Randall, prepared since 
this report was submitted. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 11 

with tlioir stuiik. It is to the admirable revohition iu the raising of 
ovine animals that we owe the beautiful industry of spinning the merino 
combing wools. It is to this that Ave owe the splendor of the industries 
of wea\ing combing wool at Paris, at Kheims, at lioubais, at Amiens, 
and St. Quentin. 

" The second is, that the aspect, the quality, the character of our 
modern tissues — in a word, all that makes them deserve, for 40 or 50 
years, the name of new inventions — are due principally to the particular 
nature of the combing wool obtained by the Spanish cross. There are 
few, very few inventions in the contexture of the stuffs, or in their 
mounting upon tlie looms, which are still the same as in the 18th century. 
It is because it has been favored by the wool of merinos that the 19th 
century has changed the physiognomy of the tissues of preceding ages.'' 

The French merinos are bred to produce wool for combing i)urposes, 
as this always obtains the highest price. They are of unusual size, pro- 
ducing fleeces of uncommon weight. Those which have been introduced 
into this country were not regarded as profital)le 5 partly for their want 
of hardiness under our system of husbandry, but mainly because there 
was no demand for their peculiar qualities of tibre. There can be no 
difficulty in engrafting the French race upon the American merino. We 
have then in our own nuiterial, and that which can be readily and 
advantageously produced by the imi)rovement of our race, the means of 
supplying a manufacture which is one of the most important in France, 
and furnishes a large part of the exportation to this country. 

SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN FRANCE. 

As it is a matter of the highest interest, as well to the manufacturer 
as the agricultimst, that sheep husbandry should be made i^rofltable in 
this country, it wiU be api)roi)riate in this connection to refer to the 
tendency of sheep husbandry in France to secure the double piu^pose of 
l)rofit from wool and mutton in the culture of the merino race. 

A notice by M. Gayot, member of tlie Imperial and Central Society 
of Agriculture of France, upon the merino-ovine races exhibited at Bil- 
lancourt during the period of the Exposition, furnishes some interesting 
information upon this point. After noticing the imj)ulse which Avas 
given to French agriculture and manufacture by the development of the 
imi)erial flocks of the Spanish race at Eambouillet, and the tendency 
which lUTvailed for many years to cultivate the merino sheep for wool 
alone, and referring to the first eftects of the importation of foreign 
wools in lowering the price of those produced in France, he observes that, 
at this period, the abandonment of the merino sheep was earnestly urged 
by many French agTiculturists Avho had become possessed with an Anglo- 
mania for the ])roduction of the long-Avoolled mutton sheej). Tliis agi- 
tation, although it did not i)rocure tlie abandonment of the merino race, 
naturally nu)dified it. The question was linaUy resolved that there was 
no incomi)atibiUty in the production of a very good quality of avooI and 



12 PAKIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

i\ satisfactory quantity of flesli. The slieep now produced in France, 
with tills double destination, produce a wool of medium fineness, very 
much appreciated, and furnish for the butcher a return in flesh satis- 
factory in quantity and quality. 

''The new merino," says M. Gajot, "is well formed; it grows rapidly; 
it produces abundantly a wool of medium fineness, but of a quality 
much sought for for the production of medium tissues, the consump- 
tion of which has a constantly ascending progression. It is easy of 
nourishment ; it is more rustic and hardy than the foreign races ; it fat- 
tens well, and at all ages, and fiu'iiishes a product in mutton which 
bears comparison with all others without disadvantage, and it is notably 
less adipose than the so-called perfected races of England." 

The consideration last referred to will be appreciated in this country ; 
the excessive fatness of the English mutton sheep, although not objec- 
tionable to the English laborer, being distasteful to American consumers. 

'' No one can deny," says M. Des Farges, in 1863, ''that the growers in 
France, who have made a good selection, and have had in view the 
double end of wool and flesh, have obtained as much precocity and 
weight with the medium-wool merinos as with the mutton races. I have 
seen a. lamb of seven months, killed by accident, which gave a net pro- 
duct in flesh of 24 kilograms, and in tallow of 4.50 kilograms ; the skin 
was worth about S francs. Anotlier lamb of 9 J months gave a product, 
in flesh, of 32J kilograms, and in tallow of 3.930 kilograms; its skin was 
sold for 10 francs. The same grower sells regularly at his sheep-fold, for 
the butcher, his fat sheep, including the fleece, at 30 francs for animals 
six months old ; for 60 francs at eighteen months, and for 80 francs at 
thirty months. 

The change effected in the French merino is thus described by M. 
Gayot after giving the pecifliar points of the old merino : " The amelio- 
ratorvS of the new race have had to fidfil another programme. At first 
they had only to j)roduce a short ayooI ; this alone implied great modifi- 
cations in the skin. The folds disapi)eared upon a more ample body, 
which has become lower and more elongated, more filled out, more fleshy 
*and less bone. It is a constant physiological result that, with a given 
race, the less the skeleton is developed, the longer becomes the staple of 
the fleece. Such, then, are the new characters deduced physiologically 
one from the other; a more cylbidrical structure; a diminution in the 
A olume of the bone ; the disappearance of the folds of the skin ; a sup- 
pression of the horns ; a very notable contraction of the head and of the 
deformities Avhicli dislionored it ; a descent of the wool upon the parts 
of the body where it had neither quality nor value ; the choice pieces, 
the sides (cotelettes) and legs, become more marked and acquire more 
weight; the wool of medium quality becomes more abundant, and is at 
the same time soft and long; the growth of the animal is more rai)id; 
the fattening more easy ; the return of flesh greater, and the quality 
more appreciable." 



WOOL AND MANUFACTUEES OF WOOL. 13 

It Avas observed that the fitness of the new merino race for the culti- 
vated and populous districts of France was so marked that the exhibit- 
ors at Billancourt of animals of the small and fine-wool Negretti race 
displayed them with this i)ublished precaution : '^ In poor countries little 
advanced, where the pasturage is thin and the price of flesh will not 
cover the cost of production, the wool ought to be the principal and 
often the only i^roduct of sheep. We must then attempt to obtain as 
much wool as possible upon animals of small size and easy to nourish." 
It is for our agricidturists to determine whether the facts above given 
can be of practical application in this country. 

ENGLISH COMBING WOOL. 

The possession, by England, of the long-wooUed races of sheep Avas the 
foundation of her manufactiu'ing supremacy, the worsted manufacture 
sui)i)lied by this wool far surx>assing that of clothing avooI, and having 
opened the manufacture of cotton. More than half of the wool of Eng- 
land, whose annual product is about 250,000,000 i^ounds, is used for 
combing purposes, no wool of the merino race being produced. There is 
no more important question to American agricultui-e and manufactures, 
and no one more nearly related to the vital question of cheap sustenance, 
than the inquiry whether the long-woolled mutton sheep shall be pro- 
duced abundantly in this country. The present consumption of this 
wool is about 6,000,000 x>ounds. The extension of the manufacture, 
Avhicli has been mechanically successful here, is limited by the supply of 
material ; were this abundant the combed- wool industry would soon take 
its place by the clothing- wool industry, and double the products of the 
AvooUen manufactui'e. That there are no i)hysical obstacles, such as con- 
dition of sod and climate, in this country to prevent the culture of the 
long wools of English blood, is demonstrated by the success in the cul- 
ture of this wool in Upper Canada, from which i)ro\ince Ave obtain nearly 
all the long combing avooI consumed here, our manufactiu'e having been 
stimidated by the reciprocity treaty, which admitted these wools without 
duty. These wools are successfidly and profitably groAvn in the neigh- 
borhood of Cleveland, Ohio, and also in Kentucky, where a new race of 
long-Avoolled sheep appears to have been formed. The inducements 
for growing long-AA^oolled sheep, especially in the neighborhood of the 
great cities, are, that profit is deriA ed from three sources — the mut- 
ton, lambs, and avooI — each coming to market at different seasons. 
The A^alue of combing aa^ooIs, as compared with the merino clothing 
Avools, has greatly increased, and, in all probability, will continue to 
do so. The English combing fleeces were worth, in 1855, only Is. l^d. 
In 1864, they Avere Avorth 2s. 4:d. They had more than doubled in price 
Avliile the clothing aa^ooIs had just about held their price; the reason for 
this difference being that, Avhile the demand for long lustre wool for the 
Avorsted manufiicture has greatly increased, its culture has been confined 
to England, Holland, and parts of Germany, Avhile the A^ast regions of 



14 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

Australia, the Cape of Good Hope, and Buenos Ayres, have been opened 
to fine wool husbandry. American agriculturists diifer as to the profit ot 
gTowing the wool of English blood in the United States. On the one 
hand, the president of the ]N^ew England Society of Agriculture asserts 
that '-'- the mutton sheep of England are unsuited to our climate and soil, 
and are neither adapted to the extensive grazing lands where flocks 
are fed which are counted by the thousand, nor to the small farm which 
cannot furnish any luxuriance of food." On the other hand, the presi- 
dent of the National Wool Growers' Association, with more discrimina- 
tion, asserts that the Cotswolds and Leicesters are well adai)ted to i)rofit- 
able breeding in the State of New York, for mutton and wool combined, 
in situations where the lands are rich, unsubject to drouth and adapted 
to root cidtiu^e, and where good city mutton markets are easily accessi- 
ble ; he says, " they are great favorites with dairy farmers, and with grain 
growing farmers who wish to keep but few sheep." If the i^resent high 
duties on combing wools shall stimulate their production, they shoidd 
be continued. If they fail of this effect after a reasonable trial, the 
intelligence of the great body of the wool-growers will lead to the reduc- 
tion of duties on these wools to a revenue standard. It is for the interest 
of the grower of the American merino wool, that there should be a sup- 
l)ly of long wool to develop the worsted manufacture, that thereby a 
demand may arise for combing wools of merino blood, for the fabrication 
of the soft and fine stuff goods previously referred to, the command of 
both kinds of wool being necessary for a i>rosperous manufacture, in 
some fabrics one supplying the warp and the other the filling.^ 

CHEVIOT SHEEP. 

A race of sheej) producing wool adapted for combing and special cloth- 
ing i)urposes has been altogether neglected in this country. This is the 
Cheviot sheei^, so extensively bred in Scotland in place of the old High- 
land breed, and Avhich supplies the chief revenue of the vast estates of 
the noble families of Breadalbane, Argyle, Athol, Sutherland, and 
Buccleuch. 

The introduction of these sheep would lead to the supply of a most 
valuable and much needed material for our manufacturers. The wool is 
sufficiently long to be combed and may be all converted into worsted. 
It is finer than the Cotswold, and can be advantageously mixed with 
English combing wool. Our worsted manutiicturers, familiar with the 
working of this wool in Scotland, consider its acquisition for combing 
purposes, simply, as very desirable. It is, however, particularly desira- 
ble to supply an imi^ortant deficiency of material for certain card wool 
fabrics. It is this wool, or a mixture of it, which give's tlieir peculiar 
character to the Scotch tweeds and the Scotch cassimeres and coarser 
shawls. It is also extensively used at Kochdale for blankets, for which 

1 See letter of Mr. Walworth on "Combing Wools," in Appendix, not accessible when this 
report was submitted. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTUEES OF WOOL. 15 

purpose it is specially fitted by being less liable to felt than tlie merino 
wools. We have invariably failed, in this country, in attempts to make 
goods corresponding to the Scotch cassimeres, so much in request.^ The 
basis of these fabrics is the Cheviot wool, to which finer avooIs are added 
to give variety to the texture; their peculiar style resulting, according to 
the statements of Mr. Bowes, from the mixture of the coarse and long 
with short and fine fibre. These sheep resemble the Leicesters in general 
appearance, being witliout horns and having white faces and legs, though 
they are much inferior in size. They have an advantage over the Lei- 
cesters in their superior hardiness, as they thrive with conditions of keep 
and exposirre under which the former would perish. Protected by ^heir 
close fleece, which prevents the penetration of rain and snow, they bear with 
comparative im^mnity the storms of the Scottish hills and thrive on their 
l^astures. Their limbs are of a length to fit them for travelling, and 
enable them to pass over bogs and snows, through which a shorter legged 
animal coidd not penetrate. In Scotland they have no other food, except 
when it is i)roposed to fatten them, than the natural grass produced on 
their own hills. The hardiness of the animals of this race, and the facil- 
ity with which, ludike the Leicesters, they are nourished and tended in 
large flocks, woidd seem to fit them admirably for the rough husbandry 
of California, ifew Mexico, and the mountains of Korth Carolina. In 
the present state of our manufactiu^es it is certain there would be an 
extensive demand for their wool. 

Although it may seem presumptuous in a manufactiu'cr to attemj^t to 
throw light ui^on the quCvStion of sheep husbandry, the object is more to 
disclose oiu' necessities than to pronounce remedies. It is apparent that 
this most vital of all agTicultural x^roblems is very far from having been 
resolved in this country. England has resolved the question for her soil 
and climate, and has made the mutton sheep culture the i)ivot upon 
which her agriculture revolves, and the means of making her fields more 
productive in wheat than even the iirairies of the west. In this country 
new elements enter into the consideration of this question; among them 
is the means of making our i^eculiar i^ossession of Indian corn most avail- 
able in the production of wool and mutton, and the relations of sheep 
husbandry to the culture of the beet for sugar, an industry destined to 
have a great extension at the west. Profit to the farmer and a supply 
of raw material to the manufacturer are not alone to be considered. 
With the increasing dearness of animal food the question of cheaper sus - 
tenance is coming to be as vital here as in Europe. The greater devel- 
opment of sheep husbandry, Avith a A'iew to the supply of mutton as well 
as wool, will be the most eificient and quickest means of dimin- 
ishing the cost of all animal food, as well as of increasing the supply of 
cereals by restoring our degenerating soil to remunerating cultivation. 
Hai^pily the interests of sheep husbaiulry are receiving, in this country, 

1 Since the above was written, fabrics called Cheviots, similar to the Scotch goods, have 
been successfully made here. 



16 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

more earnest and intelligent attention tlian ever before. There is no 
movement in American agricnltnre more encoiu-aging tlian tlie vitality 
of tlie recent national, State, and connty associations of tliose engaged 
in this branch of agricnltnre, and the vigor and talent with which the 
departments of sheei) hnsbandiy are condncted in the leading agricnltural 
papers. 

Eecurring to the Exposition, the e^^dences of the vast scale ni^on 
which sheep hnsbandry is carried on in Enssia, ai^pearing in the notices 
of its exhibitors at Paris, conld not fail to attract attention. Mr. Tilibert 
speaks thns of his flock : "It consists of 70,000 merino sheej). In 1864 
it nnmbered 50,000 head, which gave 12,860 poods ^ of wool. Mr. 
Michel Bernstein, of Odessa, describes his production as follows : '' The 
flock of Falz Feim consists of 400,000 animals. The last shearing i)ro- 
dnced 30,000 i)oods, washed, and sold for 870,000 roubles, or 2,974^500 
francs." 

Passing over the coarse wools of the Highland breed, the carjiet wools 
of Enssia and South America, the alpacas of Peru, and the Angora of 
Tiukej^,^ aU of which, with the exception, perhaps, of the latter, are of 
but little interest to the American wool producer, as they do not compete 
with any wools grown in this country, or which are likely to be gro^Ti, 
because other wool can be jjroduced with greater profit, as it is not usual 
to raise rye on land which ^^iU raise an equal amount of wheat, the under- 
signed would observe that the interest displayed by all the continental 
governments of Europe in the introduction of valuable breeds of sheep 
is worthy of imitation by our own government. If the introduction, at 
the government expense, of valuable foreign breeds of sheep, to be confided 
to the Department of Agriculture, might not be deemed expedient, there is 
certainly every reason for favoring the importation of desirable breeds of 
sheep and other animals by annulling the duties on such importations. 

' V 'lood is equal to 15.80 kilograms; .45341 of a kilo2:ram is equal to one pound avoir- 
clir o i. 

- See special paper upon the "Angora Goat," in the Appendix. 



SECTION 11. 

WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES. 

COMPAEISON OF EUROPEAN A:N^D AMERICAN MANUFAC- 

TUEES. 

Comparison of European and American Manufactures — Antiquity of fabri- 
cation IN Europe— Consumption of the world— Relative cost of produc- 
tion in the United States and Europe-t-French woollen faurics at the 
ExposiTON — Culture of taste in France— Progress of the art of dyeing 
in France— Characteristic centres in France— Belgium, Germany and Aus- 
tria—Great Britain— Duties of American Manufacturers. 

Tlie American observer, astonislied at tlie marvellous display of fab- 
rics of Avoollen of such iufluite variety and beauty at the Exposition, 
nearly all the products of Eiu^opean looms, might have been mortified 
at the meagre disj^lay from his own country, if he had not reflected that 
the woollen manufacture has hardly existed in this country more than 
half a century, and that even during its short existence it has been sub- 
ject to a system of legislation which has been constant only in its insta- 
bilit}^ In Eiu'ope the w^ooUen manufactiu-e Avas the first art which revived 
after the dark ages. As early as 1395, the stuffs of Rheims sent to Baja- 
zet II, for the ransom of French captives were regarded as the richest 
and most curious gift which France could offer. Both in France and 
England this industry received every favor which the state coidd render, 
and in the latter country its prosperity is the residt of a i^ersistent 
national care from the time of Edward III, unexampled in the history of 
industry. It could not be expected that the products of our brief expe- 
rience shoidd bear any coini)arison Avith the results of the traditions and 
inherited exi^erience of centuries. The comparison of our fabrics as they 
w ere known to exist here, rather than as they Avere exhibited — for the 
display of our goods Avas a ery far from being an adequate representation 
of the real condition of our industry — was far from discouraging, Avliile 
the recent progress in the most adv anced nations gaAe the best assur- 
ance that Ave also might attain success in the boundless field upon Avhose 
borders we had entered. 

The emotion most Aividly excited by a general survey of the depart- 
ment under consideration Avas admiration of the AA^onderful (qualities of 
the fibre, Avhicli is capable of producing objects and fabrics infinitely 
surpassing in variety of appearance as Avell as of application those pro- 
duced from any other material, thus showing itself to be, of all fibrous 
materials, that of the first necessity to man. This fibre, Ave observe, is 
made more perfect than any other by the chemical elaborations of an 
animal of high organization, thus suri)assing silk Avhich is derived from an 
animal of a lower organic structure. Its specific graAity being the least 
2 w 



18 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

of all fibrous substances, its tissues are the lightest, warmest, and most 
healthful. This material, provided in some varieties vnth a structure 
which admits the fibres to be interlaced and intermingled by the process 
of fulling into fabrics distinguished for their warmth and softness, ia 
other varieties has a lustre which assimilates its tissues to those of silk, 
and like silk and unlike cotton and flax it receives and permanently 
retains every tincture and exery tone and hue which the art of the dyer 
can produce. 

'^ Such,'- as has been said by a recent writer, '' are the qualities of 
fibre which have led every industrious nation to the cidture of flocks as 
the first necessity of its people ; Avhicli have caused, in every manufac- 
turing nation, the demand to constantly exceed the sui)ply; which 
have transplanted colonies from the Cape of Good Hope to Australia, 
and have carried the shepherd emigrant to the stepiies of Russia and 
the plains of La Plata ; and which have brought the present production 
to such enormous figures as are given by recent German estimates, giv- 
ing to Great Britain an annual production of 260,000,000 pounds of wool ; 
to Germany, 200,000,000 ; France, 123,000,000 ; Spain, Italy, and Por- 
tugal, 119,000,000 ; European Russia, 125,000,000 ; making, in aU Eu- 
rope, 827,000,000; in Australia, South America, and South Africa, 
157,000,000; the United States, 95,000,000; the British North American 
Provinces, 12,000,000 ; Asia, at a very general estimate, 470,000,000 ; 
northern Africa, 49,000,000 ; the aggregate production of wool in the 
whole globe amounting, by these estimates, to 1,610,000,000, or a pound 
and a quarter to each inhabitant, reckoned at twelve hundred and 
eighty-five million i)eople." 

The observer contemi^lating the woollen products at the Exi^osition 
as a whole would conceive that human ingenuity and imagination had 
been exhausted in the variety of form and application of this material ; 
but upon comparison of the present fabrics with those which can be 
recalled b}^ one of middle age it will be observed that nearly everything 
noAV seen is the product of modern times and Avas almost unknown in 
the past, the very variety or fantasy of stufl's being an idea of the present 
age, a variety not only due to the infinite combinations which are eftected 
by modern looms, but by an alliance of woolly fibre with other materials, 
cotton, silk, flax, and the hair of the goat and vignone and alpaca, and 
by new dyes which modern chemistry has discovered. Seeing this, no 
one could fail to be impressed with the thought that of the great iiulus- 
tries there is no one offering so Avide a field for invention and imagina- 
tion, and consequently no one Avhose pursuit is more identified with 
national progress in intelligence and taste. Looking nu^re closely, but 
still somewhat generally, at the goods exhibited by the dift'erent nations, 
there might be observed a certain national character in each, Avliich 
could be felt, but not easily described. It Avas an individuality like that 
Aviiich enables one to recognize the birtlqflace or race of a stranger by 
something of air or tone so slight that it can be hardly defined. 



AVOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 19 

The products of the eastern uations were more marked ; the carpets 
aud nigs of Tiu-key sho^Ymg' a product from the broad-tailed slieep of 
Asia, the most ancient of tlie present races, and the fabric unlike any- 
thing made on our own looms, probablj^ as old as the Crusades. The 
shawls of India, the most wonderful of all the monuments of textile 
labor, exhibit in the palm pattern a design which has probably been 
preserved for thousands of years, and a fabric called espouline, known 
from specimens still preserved to have existed as early as the year 835. 

Coming to the European nations, and passing over France, for a more 
detailed notice hereafter, we observe in the cloths of the west of Eng- 
land, solid and strong as its oak, rather than soft and lustrous, the quali- 
ties which were given by the sturdy honesty of former times. In 
durability these cloths are unsurpassed by the fabrics of any nation. 
Their production is, however, an exceptional one, the tendency of the 
English being to manufticture for the utmost possible consumption of 
the masses without regard to wearing qualities. This is shoAvn by the 
skiU displayed by them in the adulteration of wool, by the substitution 
of cheap material such as cotton and shoddy in the filling, and by mak- 
ing warj)s wholly of cotton. In cheap or adulterated goods of admi- 
rable finish and appearance the English are unsuri)assed. The intro- 
duction of sliodd}' as a manufacture was made by them, and they have 
consumed in a single year 65,000,000 pounds of this material, more than 
our whole clip of wool in 1860. In the use of new auxiliary materials in 
the woollen manufacture, such as the hair of the goat and alj^aca, and 
even cow^s hair, in the combination of wool with cotton warps in aU the 
coarser fabrics from her own combing wool, and in the substitution of 
power for hand labor, the English surpass all manufiicturing nations. 

Belgium, although provided Avith little wool of native production, is 
noticeable for the excellence of its broadcloths, cassimeres, and doeskins, 
as weU as for their cheapness, resulting from tlie exceedingly low cost of 
labor. In its combed wool fabrics it is distinguished for the facility 
with which it copies and appropriates and transforms into cheaper 
tissues the original designs of Eoubaix and Paris. 

Rhenish Prussia, having the command and the first selection of the 
incomparable wools of Germany, has preserved the reputation which it 
acquired in the 13th centmy and exhibits card- wool products, particu- 
larly the black-faced goods, which in excellence of manufacture, general 
utility, and cheapness, surpass those of any other nation. 

Austria, with its leading manufactiu-ing city, Brunn, in the very heart 
of the pastoral province of Moravia, is eminent for the originality of its 
card-wool fabrics, particidarly those for Avomen's wear, their showy and 
unique patterns, and for the vividness of its dyes. Nothing can equal 
the purity of the white cloths Avhich form the uniform of the Austrian 
troops. 

Russia exhibits a condition of manufactuie similar but inferior to our 



20 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

own, that of a young country of great enterprise and activity, but whose 
triuuii)hs in the textile arts are still to be won. 

The manufactures of the leading nations in card- wool fabrics may 
with propriety be ranked as follows : 

Eheuish Prussia, tirst for men's Avear ; France, first for women's wear ; 
Austria, second for women's wear; France, second for men's wear; 
Belgium, third for men and women's wear ; Prussia, fourth for men and 
women's wear ; England, fifth for men and women's wear ; the United 
States, sixth for men and women's wear ; Eussia, seventh for men and 
women's Avear. 

In combing wool fabrics for women's wear France is first and Eng- 
land second, the other Eiu-opean nations showing nothing to particularly 
distinguish them from each other. 

The districts in Europe distinguished for their excellence in card- 
wool fiibrics Avere marked by the awards of gold medals, no medals of 
this class ha a- in g been awarded* to indiA'iduals. Gold medals Avere 
awarded to the Chamber of Commerce of Elbeuf, France, for the toAvns 
of Elbeuf and LouAiers; the toAA^n of Sedan; the south of Scotland, 
comprising the toAsais of Dumfries, Galashiels, HaAnck, Innerleithen, 
Langolm and Selkirk ; the west of England, comprising Gloucestershire 
and Wiltshire ; the proA^ince of the Ehine, Prussia ; the i)roA ince of Silesia, 
Prussia ; the Chamber of Commerce of Brunn, Austria ; the arrondisse- 
ment of YirA'iers, Belgium ; the arrondissement of the Eiga, Eussia. 

The incompleteness of our exhibits A^ery i^roperly excluded this coun- 
try from an aAvard of the highest rank in this department. 

It AAdll be couA^enient in this connection to make a more minute com- 
parison of our fabrics with those of Eiu^opean nations, haAdng particu- 
larly in A iew our fabrics as they are knoAA^i to be produced here. 
We cannot be said to occupy a national position in the woollen manufac- 
ture except in card or clothing wool fabrics, our success in other depart- 
ments being exceptional. Our Avork has been in the direction demanded 
by the prime necessities of our people and the pecidiar character induced 
by the nature of our raw material. Our peculiarly national wool manu- 
facture is comprised in the production of all the A^arieties of card-wool 
tissues from flannels inclusive to the finest-faced broadcloths, which are 
only exceptionally included. Within this range, comprising i>lain, fancy, 
domet, and oi)era flannels, blankets, woollen shaAAis, satinets, the infinite 
A^ariety of fancy and silk-mixed cassimeres, sackings, repellants, tricots, 
beaATTs Esquimaux, escredons, cloakings, our success has been complete 
and our progress Avithin the last fiA e years truly astonishing. In nearly 
all these iiroductions we can vie with any nation in excellence, sound- 
ness, and taste of manufacture, and in some of them in cheapness. These 
goods it must be remembered furnish all the absolutely necessary card 
AA ool-(;lothing for our poi)ulation, and aU that the great majority of our 
I)eople are inclined to Avear at any time, a very small part of the population 
of the cities Avearing occasionally, only, the fine and high-priced black 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 21 

cloths. A small part of our iiopiilation, it is true, prefer to piircliase 
clotlis of foreign make to distinguisli themselves from the masses, but 
they are of the same class who in France, under the empire, Avhen cotton 
stockings were i^rohibited, preferred smuggled cotton stockings to silk, 
because they could be only obtained at double the cost of the latter. 
FavShion all over the Avorld demands the use for common wear of the 
medium mixed and fancy cloths in place of those of hi^h finish. These 
we can produce from the admirable medium wools grown ux)on our own 
soil, and thus the American clothing- wool manufacturers and wool- 
gTOwers are able to x)erform their part in one of the first duties of a nation, 
that of clothing its oa\^i people. In the class of goods referred to there 
is no need whatever of foreign supply, and none woidd be sought abroad 
if there were among us that national sentiment in favor of home produc- 
tion which i^revails among the nations of Europe. Notwithstanding the 
freedom of exchange among Euroi)ean nations, the national sentiment 
is found to be the most efficient encouragement of domestic production. 
The lustrous German clotlis so freely sold here find no sale in England. 
The London tailors who visited the Exposition reported that there was 
nothing on exhibition which would com^^are with the cloths of England. 
How different is the practice with the tailors and retail dealers in this 
country who x^ersistently foster the unpatriotic prejudice in favor of 
foreign goods, because they can obtain larger profits on the foreign 
article than on the domestic, as the cost and quality of the former are less 
generally known than of the latter. 

To specify more minutely the comparative qualities of American goods : 
In the whole range of fancy cassimeres, including the mixed goods of 
silks and wool, in style, taste, perfection of manufacture, and strength of 
material, we excel the English, and nearly approach the manufactures of 
France. The same may be said of the whole range of flannels, colored 
and plain, and of the Esquimaux and Moscow beavers, which we have 
imitated from the Germans. In the Ioav cost pilots, used as substitutes 
for the beavers, sightly to the buyer but trashy in wear, it must be 
admitted that we can hold no comparison with the English. In aU the 
grades of woollen shaAvls which can be fabricated of American wool we 
successfidly Ym in fabric and cheapness of price with the Scotch, who 
are confessedly at the head of this branch of manufacture. In the class 
of all-wool goods of light weight, made in all varieties of colors, denom- 
inated sackings and cloakings, and largely sold for Avomen's wear, the 
fabrics are now sold in this country, at prices reduced to a gold standard, 
cheaper than any similar fabrics are sold in Europe. Goods of this char- 
acter, disi)layed in the American quarter of the Exposition, and marked 
at their net gold prices, attracted great attention for theu* cheapness, 
and constant applications were made for their i^urchase. 

In some other branches of the woollen industry, besides that of card 
wool, especially those where we have equal facilities with the European 
manufacturer in obtaining raw material, our productions bear a favora- 



22 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

ble comparison. American carpets are fnlly equal, if not superior, to 
the Englisli carpets of similar grades. In the American Brussels and 
tapestry carpets there is no inferiority in designs, colors, or textiu-e.. In 
fact they are woven here and in England by the same machinery. The 
American retail i^urchaser is invariably compelled to pay a higher price 
for a foreign carpet of the same grade; that is, he can purchase a 
better American cari)et at the price of the foreign article. The Ameri- 
can ingrain carpet, which is much more largely consmned, is unques- 
tionably superior to the English. This is evinced by the fact that the 
yarns used in English carx)ets are not sufficiently strong to admit of 
their being woven in power looms, as is done in this country. There is 
a prevailing prejudice against American dyes in carpets as well as in 
other fabrics. No prejudice could be more unfounded. The same chem- 
ical agents and the same processes are used here as abroad. We have 
in our establishments the best dyers that the better prices of labor paid 
here can seduce from Europe. One manufactiu-er of opera flannels exhib- 
its patterns of eighty different hues on one card. In the present state 
of the art of tincture in Europe and this comitry bad dyeing results not 
from want of skill, but the intentional use of cheap materials, and the 
risk of getting evanescent dyes is much greater in purchasing cheap 
imi>orted goods than in buying the products of well-known American 
manufacturers, who only use inferior dyes Avhen purchasers insist upon 
cheaper goods. 

The foUomng extracts from the last annual report of the National 
Association of Wool Manufacturers are confirmatory of the views above 
given of our recent progress in the woollen manufacture : 

"During the war, the standard of excellence in our goods was undoubt- 
edly far too low, and discredit was throAvn ui)on our national production. 
Home competition, the inevitable result of protection, is now for excel- 
lence 'j and the vast improvement exhibited the present year is the sub- 
ject of universal comment and suri)rise with the leading merchants. The 
leading organ of the dealers in dry goods — the Economist, a well-known 
free-trade advocate — declares as follows : ' It can be truly said of oiu' 
manufactiu^ers this season, they have made wonderful progress over last 
year. Such continued imiirovements in the manirfacturing of woollen 
goods will soon place us beyond the name of rivals, and cause oiu' pro- 
ducts to be imitated the world over, as our most choice styles and sala- 
ble patterns are the result of American ingenuity, both in coloring and 
in style.' As the admissions of an opponent are legitimate testimony, 
we may fairly quote in this connection the declaration of the same organ, 
that ^ a great impulse has been given to domestic manufacturers under 
the inlluence of the high tariff^ and the result is seen in the splendid dis- 
play made by our woollen mills.' 

" Our progress has not been limited to improvements of old fabrics in 
style or economical production. Many new fabrics have been success- 
fully achieved. Among the notable exanqjles of recent introductions 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 23 

may be specified the silk-mixed clotlis, having threads of silk incorporated 
with both the warp and the filling; adding strength to the texture, 
and giving agreeable neutral shades to the surface. It is admitted that 
the American i)roducts of these goods, which are largely consumed, fall 
short in no resx3ect of their German prototyi^es. Tlie introduction of 
these goods is interesting, as aiding in the development of a kindred 
branch of American manufactures, all the silk used in these goods being 
spun in this country. The consumption of silk is by no means incon- 
siderable, that consumed by one manufacturer, for this class of goods, 
exceeding annually $80,000 in value. The silk and wool manufactures 
are united in another fabric of great beauty, largely made in Connecti- 
cut — the Irish i^oplins, composed of worsted filling, which is covered 
completely by a warp of silk. This beautiful addition to our j)roducts of 
luxury, it is hoped, is the harbinger of a broader extension of the silk 
manufacture, which needs only sufficient protection to take its place in 
this country with the manufactures of wool and cotton. 

^' The great perfection which we have attained mthin the last two 
years in the manufacture of the class of cloths styled Esquimaux beav- 
ers, for overcoatings, is worthy of especial commemoration. Five years 
ago all the goods of this class, consumed in this country, were imported. 
The cheapness and excellence of the goods of this class recently fabri- 
cated here have led to the exclusion of the foreign product. The goods 
of this class, manufactiu-ed by the Germania Mills, exhibited at the Paris 
Exposition, received the award of a medal of high class.* 

'' Marked imi^rovements have been made within the last year or two 
in the production of knit goods. Until quite recently the manufacture 
of shaped stockings, shirts, and drawers, made abroad wholly on hand 
machines, has not been attempted here. An American machine now 
performs automatically the narrowing and widening of the best class of 
knit goods, which is done elsewhere by hand. A great difficulty in the 
manufacture of knit goods has been the seaming, which, when done by 
hand, involved the distribution of the Avork to the homes of the skilled 
women by whom the work was finished at great cost. Within the last 
year a machine has been perfected by American ingenuity for seaming 
automatically. In one establishment a hundred little girls are employed 
on these machines, earning from half a dollar to a dollar a day, and 
accomplishing the seaming more perfectly than it Avas CA^er done by 
hand. Thus a completely shaped knit article is produced entirely by 
power, equal in all respects to the goods of the most celebrated English 
makers ; while they are afforded at materially reduced prices. 

'' Of recent noA^elties in our manufacture, the fabrics which liaA^c 
attracted most admiration are the cloakings, so largely introduced during 
the present season. Ea^cu experienced manufocturers are astonished by 
the new range which is giA^en to the ai)plication of AVOoUy fibre, by the 
surprising variety of styles and effects obtained, and that they are capa- 
ble of being produced by machinery. The models Avhich gave the idea 



24 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

of the fabrics produced here, originall}^ conceived and executed in Aus- 
tria, under a protective system of over seventy per centum, first appeared 
at the London Exposition in 1802, and were regarded as marked features 
of the Exposition. To the genius and enterj^riso of a young manufac- 
turer of Khode Ishmd is due the conception of reprodu dug the Austrian 
inventions in this country. He was able to carry his conception into 
i:)ractical execution, by personal observation and actual labor in the 
Austrian mills. Not content mth imitation, he introduced new styles 
and textures adapted to American avooI 5 and the goods now produced 
by him, and by other manufacturers Avho have followed his example, 
although purely American in design, are in no resi)ect inferior to the 
foreign models ; while they are sold at from two to three dollars less 
than the prices at which the imported goods can be afforded, the Amer- 
ican goods being woven by machinery, while the Austrian goods are 
woven by hand." 

The highly respectable position occupied by the United States in 
the card- wool industry Avas indicated by the awards at the Exposition. 
It has been observed that no higher award than a silver medal was 
made to any indiAidual or single establishment in this class. Among 
the 102 awards of the silver medal in this class, the 66th in number, 
and the first to an American exhibitor, was one for cloths manufactured 
by the Washington mills, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, exhibited as 
illustrative of the average styles and quality of the wooUen goods now 
made in the United States. These fabrics, 30 in number, were not made 
for the Exposition, but represented the daily average products of the 
mill. Upon each sample a card was affixed, stating the selling price 
in this country. The jury, in making this honorable award, had in view 
the excellence and variety of these fabrics, their fitness for general con- 
sumption, and the reasonableness of the prices at which these goods 
are afforded in this country. The award was an important testimony 
in behalf of American fabrics, as the production of this mill, although 
luidoubtedly equalled in quality as to some fabrics by many others here, 
is the largest in the country, and ranks among the most considerable in 
the world. 

A silver medal, being the 67th in number, was awarded to the Web- 
ster woollen mills, of Massachusetts, S. Slater & Sons, for the admirable 
card-AYOol fabrics, couvsisting of black broadcloths, doeskins, castors, &c., 
produced in this establishment, their excellence placing beyond question 
our capacity of production in this department, with a sufficient supply 
of the requisite raw material. A bronze medal was awarded to Mr. H. 
Stursberg, of Xew York, for beavers, fully equalling those of German 
make, i^roduced at the Germania mills, in Ilolyoke, Massachusetts. A 
bronze medal Avas also awarded to the Mission woollen mills, of San 
Francisco, California, for card- wool fabrics. The blankets exhibited from 
California would have done credit to any of the older States. 

It is greatly to be regretted that no sam^iles were displayed of our 



WOOL AND MANUFACTUEES OF WOOL. 25 

productions in otlier departments of the woollen indnstry in which we 
h^\e made much advance, as in carpets, knit goods, and delaines. 

The department of combed wool manufactures, which in England and 
France emi)l()ys the larger part of the capital and labor engaged in the 
woollen industry, we may be said to have scarcely entered upon, so vast 
is the field still unoccupied. Our progress in the cotton manufacture 
has directed our efforts principally to one branch of the worsted indus- 
try, the manufacture of the mixed fabrics with a Avarp of cotton and a 
filling of wool or worsted, which are classed under the generic name of 
mousselines delaine. In this manufacture we are favored by the char- 
acter of oiu' native wools. In consequence of the domestic maiuifacture 
of this fabric, the importation of printed delaines has almost wholly 
ceased, our goods being softer, owing mainly to the qualities of domestic 
wool, and taking color better than the competing imported fabrics. Of 
these goods not less than 00,000,000 yards are made here, Avhich are all 
consumed in this country. This manufacture is peculiarly interesting, as 
one of the American establishments engaged in it was able to present to 
the Exposition a most honorable illustration of the manner in which the 
interests of the manufacturing proprietor, and the material, moral, and 
intellectual a\ ell-being of the workmen, are harmonized in this country. 

A special jury was constituted at the Paris Exposition to award prizes 
to i)ersons, establishments, and localities which, by a special organization 
or special institutions, have develoi)ed a vspirit of harmony among all 
those co-operating in the same work, and have provided for the material, 
moral, and intellectual well-being of the workmen. In response to a call 
from this jury, the manager of the Pacific mills, situated in Lawrence, 
Massachusetts, presented a statement of the operations and conduct of 
this establishment, and received the distinguished award of a grand 
prize, consisting of a gold medal of the value of 1,000 francs and 9,000 
francs in gold; similar awards having been made to 13 persons, estab- 
lishments and localities in otlier parts of the Avorld. The folloAving facts 
are condensed from the paper of Mr. Chapin, Avhich will be found in full 
in the appendix: 

This establishment was erected in 1853, at a cost in capital of $2,500,000. 
Its machinery is propelled by a fall of water of 1,500 horse-power. The 
average sale of manufactiu'ed goods, consisting of ]>rinted delaines and 
calicoes, has exceeded for some years past $7,500,000. It employs about 
3,600 work people; of these there are 1,G80 men and 1,510 women; the 
rest consisting of boys and girls from 10 to 18 years old. 

In the origin of the establishment provision was made to secure the 
material, moral, and intellectual welfare of the Avorkmen, both as a duty 
to them and as a measure of self-interest to the proprietors. The material 
interests of the workmen are provided for by the construction of cheertul, 
comfortable, and well- ventilated workrooms; also, in the construction of 
dwellings foy families of work-people, which are furnished at a rent equal 
to one-eighth of the wages of the head of a family; and, secondly, by the 



26 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

erection of large buildings, used as boarding-liouses, for the use of single 
females, whose residences are at a distance. These houses are i^rovided 
^ith rooms accommodating two persons in each, the female operatives 
paying about one-third of their average wages for lodging, food, lights, 
and Avashing in these boarding-houses. 

Another instrumentality for the material welfare of the workmen is an 
association for mutual relief, of which each person employed by the com- 
pany must be a member. This association provides for any sick person 
who has paid from two to six cents, for at least three months, a weekly 
allowance for a period of at least 26 weeks, of from $1 25 to $3 75. In 
the course of 12 years this association, to which the company contributes 
weekly, has expended for the benefit of sick members a sum exceeding 
$25,000. 

For the morcd protection of the large number of females employed by 
the company, the boarding-houses are controlled by persons carefidly 
selected to influence this class of persons, and to act in the place of 
guardians. Unmarried men are never allowed to lodge in the boarding- 
houses, and married men only in rare instances, when accompanied by 
their wives. The doors of the houses are locked at 10 o'clock at night. 
It is impossible for an openly vile person to remain connected with the 
comi3any. Men of intemperate or general bad habits are excluded, and 
it is an established princii)le that all profanity, or any bad exami)le, or 
severe use of authority among the head workmen, must be strictly 
avoided, especially when these overseers have in charge females or 
young persons. 

For the intellectual cidture of the workmen there is a library, estab- 
lished by the contribution of one cent per week from each i)erson 
emi)loyed, containing at present more than 4,000 volumes. This insti- 
tution is under the control of the workmen. Separate rooms, supplied 
with newspapers and current i^eriodicals, at all times comfortably warmed 
and lighted, and accessible at all hours, are pro^dded for males and females. 
The number of work-i)eople who cannot make use of this library, from 
being unable to read, does not exceed 50 in 1,000, and these are univer- 
sally of foreign birth. 

The advantages resulting to the employers from this care for the eleva- 
tion and welfare of their operatives, and to workmen themselves, are : 
There have been no strilces among the work-people ; they have been encour- 
aged to feel that any grievance wiU be patiently listened to and frankly 
discussed, and the result has always been favorable to good order j a 
higher class of workmen has been secured, especially among the over- 
seers, who engage the laborers in their different departments, and give 
a character to the mass 5 the Avork-people have been enabled to invest 
their siu'plus earnings largely in savings banks, such deposits largely 
exceeding $100,000 at the present time; many work-people ovni houses 
free from debt, more than $50,000 being thus invested; several workmen 
have become OAvners of the stock of the company — the stock so held has 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 27 

a present market value exceeding $00,000; many of the workmen have 
become members of the city government in its board of ahlermen and 
common conncil ; finally, the pecuniary success of the comi)any has war- 
ranted a liberal payment of wages. 

The least sum now paid in weekly wages to the youngest emi)loy<^ is 
$1 82, gold, and the number belonging to this class is very small. Boys 
of 16 years do not receive less than $2 85, gold, weekly. The least 
amount paid weekly to men is $0 75, gold; while a very large majority 
receive much more. Females receive from $2 48, gold, weekly, or about 
12^ cents for the least, to $6 72, gold; while a few earn more. This 
excepts young girls, whose wages are the same as the least simi named 
above. Spinners, weavers, and a few others, are paid in accordance 
with the i)roduct, some of them earning very large wages. 

'No comment is needed to give force or application to these facts, which 
may find their i)arallels at the Washington, Middlesex, and Salisbury 
mills, and most of the large establishments of Kew England. These 
facts can be better ai)in'eciated by comi>aring the social influence of the 
American system of manufactiu'e, as above exhibited, Avith that of Eou- 
baix, to be hereafter described, where fabrics similar to those of the 
Pacific mills are i)roduced. The woollen manufacturers cannot claim for 
their industry alone the credit of harmonizing the interests of employers 
and workmen. They must divide their honors with the Lowells, Api)le- 
ton's, and Jackson's, of the past generation, the early promoters of the 
American cotton manufacture, of which the woollen manufacture in ^N^ew 
England, in its present form, is an offshoot. The benevolent forethought 
exercised by these excellent men to i)reserve the moral character of oiu^ 
rural popidation in the change to a new form of industry, Avhose influ- 
ence elsewhere had proved so deleterious, is referred to by Mr. Nathan 
Apx)leton in his '' History of the introduction of the Power Loom and 
the origin of Lowell." After modestly attributing to Mr. Francis 0. 
LoAvell, with whom Mr. Appleton had been associated since 1811, '' the 
credit of having first introduced the new system in the cotton manufac- 
ture under which it has grown so rapidly ;" and obser\ing that Mr. 
Lowell's '^care was esj)ecially devoted to arrangements for the moral 
character of the operatives employed," Mr. Appleton continues : " The 
introduction of the cotton manufacture in this country, on a large scale, 
was a new idea. AVliat would be its effect on the character of our popula- 
tion was a matter of deep interest. The operatives in the manufactuiing 
cities of Em^ope were notoriously of the lowest character for intelligence 
and morals. The question therefore arose, and was deeply considered 
whether this degradation was the result of the peculiar occupation or of 
other and distinct causes. We could not perceive why this peculiar des- 
cription of labor should vary in its efl'ects upon character from all other 
occupations. There was little demand for female labor, as household 
manufacture was superceded by the improvements in machinery. Here 
was, in New England, a fund of labor well educated and virtuous. It was 



28 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

not perceived how a profitable employment has any tendency to deteriorate 
the character. The most efficient guards were adoi)ted in establishing 
boarding-houses^ at the cost of the company, under the charge of respecta- 
ble women, with every provision for religious worship. Under these cir- 
cumstances the daughters of respectable farmers were readily induced to 
come into these mills for a temi>orary period. The contrast in the char- 
acter of our manufacturing population compared with that of Europe 
has been the admiration of the most intelligent strangers who have visited 
us. The effect has been to more than double the wages of that descrip- 
tion of labor from what they were before the introduction of this manu- 
facture. This has been in some measure, counteracted, for the last few 
years, by the free-trade policy of the government ; a policy which, fully 
carried out, will reduce the value of labor with us to an equality with 
that of Europe." 

The oi^probrious epithet of '' white slavery" has sometimes been applied 
to the labor in the Kew England factories. No aspersion could be more 
unwarranted. The founders of the prevalent ^N^ew England factory sys- 
tem carefully purged it from every element of feudalism. They avoided 
the English plan, which had been at first introduced elsewhere, of em- 
ploying families in the mill, often including childi^en who should have 
been at school, the families being kept in a state of absolute dependence 
ui^on the mill, and expcfsed to suffering whenever there was any inter- 
ruption in the business. They abolished the custom of payment by 
orders on a factory store, which tended to involve the workmen in debt 
and dependence, and instituted the practice of weekly payment of wages 
in money. They provided comfortable boardiiig-houses, which attracted 
work-people of mature age from the distant rural homes, to which they 
could return when the business of the mill was interrupted, a system 
which greatly favored the freedom of movement of the laborer, and 
they abjured all attempts to exercise political or religious control upon 
the workmen. In fact the independence of the laborer secured by these 
measures was one of the most marked features of the new era in the 
manufacturing business of Kew England. 

A more imi^ortant point of comi^arison between American and foreign 
fabrics is the relative cost of production of such manufactures, as we have 
most successfidly achieved here, measured by the only correct standard, the 
relative expenditure of human labor required for such production. The 
solution of this question Avill determine whether we have such natural or 
acquired advantagesas will justify the encouragement of this manufacture 
as a national industry. In pm^suing this inquiry we can fix upon no single 
representative article of uniform quality and value 5 such as a ton of pig 
iron, the relative cost of which woidd determine the conq)arative advan- 
tages of the American or foreigner in the manufacture of iron. The infinite, 
variety of cloths forbids the selection of any one as the standard of com- 
parison, even if it were possible to obtain data from the books of foreign 
manufacturers. This question must be solved for the products of the card- 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 29 

wool industry, generally, by comparing* tlie efficiency of onr system, x)ro- 
cesses, and machinery of fabrication. Tlie manj- j)ractical mannfacturers 
wlio have recently visited Europe for tlie exi)ress purpose of studying 
its industries conciu' in declaring tbat, in these resi)ects, we are on an 
equality with the most advanced nations. Laying aside the supposed 
advantages Avhich we have in the possession of water-power, upon which 
far too much stress is laid in i^opular estimates, we api^ly everywhere in 
our fabrication of woollens the factory system and make the utmost use 
of mechanical power, while handicraft processes are still largely used 
abroad, especially in weaving. For the preparation of card-wool no 
machinery at the Exposition equalled in efficiency the American burring 
machinery exhibited there, such as is in general use here. In the card- 
ing of wool no improvements were seen at Virviers, one of the chief cen- 
tres of the card- wool industry in Europe, which we do not have in use. 
About the same number of hands were employed at the cards as here. 
Spinning in large establishments abroad is usually performed by mules, 
while jack spinning is more generally adoi)ted in New England, as bettei- 
suited to the ditferent qualities and quantities of yarns demanded by the 
variety of fobrics usually in^oduced in our mills. The mules used here 
are of equal efficiency with those in the best mills in Europe. With 
respect to weaving, it was remarked that looms were being constructed 
at the machine shops at Yirviers such as Ave woidd not put into our mills 
to-day. It was also remarked that no European looms for weaving fancy 
goods were shown at the Exi)osition which woidd bear conq)arison T\ith 
the Orompton lo^m, and even iq^on that admirable machine great im- 
I)rovements are known to be in progress. The other processes of manu- 
facture, such as dyeing, are the same as in Europe. When we take into 
consideration the greater energy and intelligence of our better fed and 
better educated workmen, the necessary use of every labor-saving i)ro- 
cess on account of the higher cost of labor here, and the admitted supe- 
riority in construction of American machinery, it may be safely asserted 
that a yard of cloth is made in this country Avith less houi^s of hiunan 
labor than one of equal quality and the same degree of finish abroad. 
In other Avords, a Aveek's labor ANdll produce more yards of cloth in an 
American than in an European null. But it is said that a yard of cloth 
costs less in Euroi)e than in the United States. Even this statement 
requires qualification, for the American laborer can purchase here more 
yards of cloth by the produce of a day's work than the European laborer, 
the ratio of the price of cloth in this country, to-day, not being in pro- 
l)ortion to the ratio of the rate of Avages of ordinary labor. It is still 
true that the money cost of j)roducing cloths is greater in this country 
than in Europe. From Avhat has been said it is api)arent that the 
greater money cost of fabricating cloths is not due to any Avant of 
natural advantages, or any deficiency in skiU and effectiA e labor on the 
part of the American manufacturer. It is not true of this industry, as 
is often asserted by theorists, that it has a sickly and hotbed groAVth, 



30 



PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 



sustained only by artificial stimulus, and rendering its productions as 
unnatural, to use Adam Smith's often quoted comparison, as that of wine 
produced from grax)es grown in the greenhouses of Scotland. The higher 
cost of production in this industry is due, solely, to national causes 
inherent to the condition of a new country and a progressive people, to 
the higher rates of the interest on capital required to initiate and sustain 
industrial enterprise, and the higher rates of labor demanded by the 
greater social and educational requirements of our industrial popidation. 

The facility with which capital is obtained abroad on account of the low 
rates of interest is an advantage which has been too much overlooked. 
The language of Burke, uttered 80 years ago, respecting the advantages 
of England over France, may be applied with equal force by all the 
nations of Europe to our own : '' Our capital gives us a superiority which 
enables us to set all the efforts of France to rival our manufactures at 
defiance. The powers of capital are irresistible in trade; it domineers, 
it rules, it even tjTannizes j it entices the strong and controls the weak.'' 

The following table showing the comparative rates of interest in Eng- 
land, France, and the United States is so instructive that no apology 
will be required for its reproduction : 





1 

England. 


Bank of 
France. 


United 




Market. 


Bank. 


States. 


1846 


Per cent. 
3.79 
5.85 
3.21 
2.31 
2.25 
3.06 
1.91 
3.67 
4.94 
4.67 
5.90 
6.69 
3.15 
2.74 
4.42 


Per Lent. 
3.21 
5.21 
3.71 
2.94 
2. .52 
3.00 
2.15 
3.69 
5.31 
5.64 
5.90 
6.59 
3.23 
2.74 
4.42 


Per cent. 
4.00 
4.92 
4.00 
4.00 
4.00 
4.00 
3.21 
3.21 
4.33 
4.42 
5.54 
6.00 
3.G7 
3.46 
3.67 


Per cent. 
8.35 


1847 


9.54 


1848 


15. 12 


1849 


10.08 


1850 


8.02 


1851 


9.63 


1852 


6.42 


1853 


10.21 


1854 


10.37 


1855 


8.96 


1856 


8.92 


1857 


12.77 


1858 


4.99 


1859 


6.59 


1860 


6.80 






Mean rate for the 15 years 


3.90 


4.02 


4.16 


9.12 







In presenting this table, showing that the average rate of interest paid 
here during the 15 years ending Avith 18G0 was more than double the 
average on the other side, Mr. Bigelow observes: "Kemarka^jle as this 
difference may seem, it is such, in kind, as must always distinguish 
countries comparatively new, and partially settled, from those of longer 
standing. Neither the laws nor the condition of the United States can 
be considered favorable to great accumulations of capital. Existing, as 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 31 

it does here, in amounts comparatively small and widely distributed, the 
price of its use must, in general, range high, so long as we have land in 
so large i^roportion to the number and wants of the population. Tlie 
assimilation of our condition in this respect to that of England must of 
necessity be gradual and slow, awaiting and following the occupation of 
our yet unpeopled territory, and the full development of our internal 
resources." 

The prices of labor abroad, details of Avhicli will be hereafter given, and 
particularly in Germany and Belgium, Avhich are our most formidable 
competitors,. AAill be shown to be not more than half the rates paid here, 
being reduced to the lowest sum which mil sui)port existence. Having 
placed ourselves ui)on an equality Tvith other nations in enterprise and 
skill, our power of unaided competition has reached its limit, and our 
woollen industry could not sustain itself in competition Avith foreign pro- 
duction unless i^laced upon an equality in the conmiand of capital, or 
uidess the disparity against us were neutralized by legislative provisions. 
It is only to neutralize the foreign advantages of cheap capital and labor 
that protective, or, more i^roperly si:)ealving, defensive^ duties are demanded 
by the woollen manufacturers. The duties on w ool paid by the manufac- 
tiu^er, and theoretically reimbursed by the specific duties on the cloth, 
are demanded by the American wool-growers for the same reason. We 
speak only for our own industry, and with respect to that it is asserted, 
with the utmost confidence, that every spindle and loom emi^loyed in it 
would be stopped by the breaking down of the defensive barriers existing 
in tariff legislation. Capital and labor already employed with the utmost 
possible effectiveness, in the present state of the art, w ould not Avithstand 
for a moment an unaided confiict with foreign industry Avielding capital 
and labor acquired at half the cost of our OAvn. The feeble obstacle of 
transportation, so often magnified into an advantage in our faA'or, would 
be but a feather- Aveight in oiu? scale of adA antages. Abandon the av oollen 
industry, and 200,000 workmen are thrown upon the land for emi)loyment ; 
the markets for agricultural products for these workmen and their 
families would be cut off. Sheep husbandry, supi)orted as it is solely by 
the American manufacture, with all its incidental adA^antages of snpply- 
ing cheap food and enriching the soil, woidd be abandoned 5 its 200,000 
laborers would be driven to other branches of agricultural labor. The 
coveted boon of cheap tissues Avoidd last only through the brief period 
during which our OAvn manufacturing industry is being SAvept away. 
Apply this system to all American industry, and Ave become a mere agri- 
cultural people, vegetating in the hopeless apathy and upon the low plane 
of civilization of Turkey, Ireland, and our oavu southern States. 

We may appropriately dweU at some length upon a point aboA^e adverted 
to, the absolute dependence of American sheep husbandry upon the 
domestic American manufacture. It has been often said that this country 
can advantageously grow wool for export. The fallacy of this notion is 
weU exposed by Dr. Elder, who has compared our exportations of wool 



32 PAKIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

witli tlie iinportations of toys and playing cards to illustrate tlie insig- 
nificance of wool exports. In the seven years 1858-'G4, inclusive, our 
aggregate ex2)orts of domestic wool to all countries amounted to $1,725,799, 
and two-tliirds of this was to bordering nations on our own continent, 
from whom Ave imported more wool than we exported. In the same 
period the toys and dolls imi)orted were valued at $2,483,489. In the 
year 18G0 our exi)ortations of wool to all the manufacturing countries of 
the globe were of the value of $20,136, and our importations of playing- 
cards amounted to $19,238. It is clear that we have never had a foreign 
market for our wools, and the higher cost of labor which x)revents exports 
of woollen goods must limit the i>roduction of wool to domestic consump- 
tion. The success of our domestic woollen industry thus becomes iden- 
tified with our agricultural i^rosperity. Such considerations would seem 
to i)lace it beyond all question that our national interests require that we 
should repel the cheap fabrics of Europe even at considerable sacrifice, 
that we may approi^riate for ourselves the labor and profit of their i)ro- 
duction. Such was the conclusion of the continental nations of Europe, 
when peace restored the nations to labor, at the close of the gTcat wars of 
Napoleon. England then had the command of all the markets of the con- 
tinent, and was ready to fill them with her cheap fabrics ; each nation of 
the continent refused them, and built up its barriers of defensive duties, 
and with what results to their own wealth, and the industrial progress of 
the world! '^Instead of a single workshop Europe has the workshops 
of France, Eussia, Austria, Prussia, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Spain ; 
each clothing its own people with substantial fabrics ; each developing 
its OTVTi creative genius and peculiar resources ; each contributing to sub- 
stitute the excellence of comx)etition for the mediocrity of monopoly; 
each adding to the i)rogress of the arts, and the wealth and comfort of 
mankind." 

THE WOOLLEN INDUSTRY OF EUROPE. 

Not the least of the advantages which the Eiu'opean manufacturer 
possesses is the superior facility which he enjoys of observing the pro- 
cesses and comparing the best i3roducts of the most advanced nations. 
It is hoped that the notices of the woollen industry of the leading manu- 
fiicturing nations which foUoAV may have some effect in stimulating 
our own manufacturers to study i^ersonally the operations of the most 
instructive establishments abroad, and at the same time convey to the 
general reader a more vivid impression of the im^Dortant part which the 
woollen industry jilays in the industrial movement of the world. 

FRANCE. 

Englaiul and France are nearly equal in amount of production, but in 
excellence France is at the head of all nations in the manufacture of 
wool. Her i)roducts are the most worthy of being our models. Her 
native wools most resemble our own. It seems appropriate, therefore. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 33 

tliat we sliould avail ourselves of the full information conveyed by 
the vast display of her products at the Exposition and the precise 
documents fnrnished by Frencli publications of authority, and occu])y a 
considerable portion of this report with statements respecting the French 
industry. 

The leading woollen ftibrics at the Exposition were arranged in two 
classes— 29 and 30. Class 29 comprised yarns and tissues of combed 
wool, including combing wools, yarns of combed and carded wool, tissues 
of pure combed wool, flannels and fancy stuffs of wool carded and sliglitly 
fulled, and tissues of combed wool mixed Avith other materials. The 
I)rincipal centres of production of these articles in France are Eheims, 
Eoubaix, St. Quentin, Amiens, Mulhouse, Saint Maine, Aux Mines, Eouen, 
Fourmies, Gateau, and, finally, Paris. Tlie following facts are derived 
from tlie committee of admission of this class : 

In 1835 the wools of France played relatively a more important part 
than at present in the supply of her manufactiu^es. At that period the 
wools of Australia were little known, of which, in 18G5, 23,000,000 kilo- 
grams Avere used. On the other hand the importations from Spain, Ger- 
many, Tiu'key, and Algeria have not lost their importance, having 
amounted, during the year 1865, to nearly 50,000,000 kilograms. The 
great increase of supply has come from Australia. These different wools. 
are now combed and spun by machines of great perfection. The weaving 
of stuffs of wool or dress goods by power was hardly attempted in 1855, 
but since 18G2 has had a rapid development, Ayhich increases every day. 
The AveaAdng by hand has not diminished, but has remained nearly 
stationary, while the great increase of production is due to the use of 
machinery driven by power. The number of Avorkmen employed in poAver 
AveaAing is much less than those working at home by hand. The number 
of females employed in combing, spinning, and weaving is estimated at 
about one-half the whole number of operatives in some districts, and one- 
third in others. All the combed wool fabrics made in France have been 
much lowered in price since 1855. The exportations of manufactures of 
wool of all kinds have increased from 105,000,000 francs ($33,000,000) in 
1855, to 390,000,000 francs ($79,200,000) in 18G5. The yarns and stuffs 
of combed wool are valued at 279,000,000 francs, ($55,800,000.) The 
improA^ements obserA^ed are: new methods of combing and spinning; 
ingenious means of printing, facilitating the labor of the workman and 
the effectiA^eness of the machine; and the application of the products of 
aniline as a dyeing material. 

The French products of class 30, comprising yarns and tissues of 
carded wool, form four principal series : 1. Soft, black, and uniformly 
colored cloths, cloths for billiard tables and carriages, black-faced goods, 
called satins, and beaA^er cloths ; 2. Fashioned or fancy cloths for pale- 
tots and Avomen's garments ; 3. ]^OA-elties for pantaloons; 4. Articles for 
waistcoats and complete garments. These products are manufactured 
by establishments situated in five principal groups : 
3 w 



34 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

1. The group of Normandy, the centre of which is the town of Elbeuf. 
This citj' and Lonviers, and the towns of Vire, Lisienx, and Roniorantin, 
produce specially fabrics for general consumption , such as fancy and 
pilot cloths, novelties for pantaloons, and articles of wool velvet, and 
cloths for women's garments. 

2. The group of Ardenne, the centre of which is Sedan ; here fine 
black broadcloths and cassimeres are largely manufactui^ed, as well as 
cloths for i)aletots and wool velvets. 

3. The gToup of St. Isere, the centre of which is Yienne, which pro- 
duce generally articles of low price for pantaloons, paletots, &c. 

4. The group of High lihine and Moselle, the centre of which is Bich- 
waller, which produces the fine-faced black cloths, called satins. The 
heavy stufts for country use are made chiefly at Nancy. 

0. The group of the Midi, comprising the towns of Carcassone, Maza- 
met. Saint Pons, and Bidarieux, which produce all the tissues of low 
l)rice mentioned above. 

The greater part of the avooI employed in the card- wool industry comes 
from abroad j the ordinary French wools, from unimproved races, being 
used for the common cloths. Hand labor is almost everywhere replaced 
by power. Hand- weaving is emi^loyed only for the fabrication of arti- 
cles, the designs of which, being subject to the caprices of fashion, are 
required to be in great variety, such as stufls for pantaloons, waistcoats, 
and garments for ladies' wear. It is observed that power-labor, by 
reducing the price of the manufactured article, causes greater consumi)- 
tion, and employs more workmen. It is estimated that the manipulation 
of card- wool stufls, and the general expenses, taking the winter and 
summer goods together, add one-third to the cost of the raw material. 
The number of workmen emx)loyed by i)atrons in manufactimng estab- 
lishments, or mills, properly called, is estimated at nearly two-thirds of 
the total number ; the rest work by hand at their own homes, but in both 
cases they generally work by the piece. The women employed in the 
card-wool industry comprise about two-fifths of all the laborers. The 
goods are generally sold directly to the great commercial houses of Paris 
and the departments, and these send commercial travellers through 
France and abroad to place their goods. The exportation of card- wool 
fabrics in 1865 was about 5,500,000 kilograms, of an approximate value 
of 71,000,000 francs. The annual production of these fabrics is reckoned 
at about 250,000,000 francs. 

GENERAL FEATURES OF FRENCH INDUSTRY. 

Before proceeding to a description of the several centres of nmnufac- 
ture it Avill be proper to refer to the general features of the French avooI- 
len industry. Some passages from ^'The Fleece and the Loom,"^ pub- 
lished in 18G6, may be appropriately quoted in this connection : 

"In studying the characteristics of the French manufacturers, and the 



' Address before the National Association of Wool Manufacturers, by John L. Hayes. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 35 

part tliey have taken in advancing the general i^rogress of the woollen 
indnstry, and in adding to the means of consnmptiqn, we observe that 
they have not attained that economy of prodnction which so eminently 
distinguishes the British manutactnrers. Supplied with abundant laboi", 
supported by cheap sustenance, the French manufacturers have been 
content to remain far behind the British and Americans in the substitu- 
tion of machinery for human labor. But the tendency of machinery, as 
they think, is to give mediocrity to manufactured i)roducts; and the 
French aim at the utmost excellence in their Avorks. The individual 
skill or haiidi(;raft of the workman is developed to the utmost extent. 
All machinery is rejected which will not suri)ass the manipulations of 
the hand. Spinning, the foundation of good textures, is carried by them 
to the utmost perfection. Yarns, spun from combed or carded wool by 
the rival nations, exhibited at the great London Exi)osition, were car- 
ried 10, 20, and even 30 numbers higher by French spinners with the 
same wool. They excel equally in ameliorating raw materials, in making 
them softer and more flexible. The French, in the textile arts, are crea- 
tors; wlule the English are exploiteurs. The one nation invents new 
fabrics, new combinations of old materials, new styles and i)atterns, or 
what, in a w^ord, are called French novelties. The other works u]> these 
ideas, copies, transforms, dilutes, and, above all, cheai^ens. Most other 
nations follow the English example, and our otvti is as yet no exception. 
To specify the contributions of inventive or creative genius of France to 
the woollen industry, we must class, first among the machines, the 
Jacquard, already referred to, whose wonderfid products are seen in all 
figured textures ; and next, the machinery for combing wool and also 
cotton, of Heilman, of Mulhouse, an invention which j^ossesses interest, 
not only on account of its vast imx^ortance, but the circumstances of its 
origin. The most novel and valuable i^art of this machine, as stated by 
the inventor, which he had long unsuccessfully endeavored to obtain, 
was idtimately accomplished by carrying into mechanical operation a 
suggestion which occurred to him while Avatching his daughters combing 
their hair. He was at that time meditating on the hard fate of invent- 
ors generally, and the misfortunes which befell their families. This cir- 
cumstance, says Mr. Woodcroft, being communicated to Mr. Elmore, of the 
Eoyal Academy, was embodied by him in a picture which was exhibited, 
and greatly admired, at the Eoyal Academy in 18G2. We all practice or 
use French creations Avithout suspecting their origin. Before 1834 the 
colors of aU fulled cloths Avere uniform. At that time Mr. Bonjean, of 
Sedan, conceived the idea, to give beauty to the productions of his 
looms, of uniting in the same stuff difterent tints and figures. His 
thought was that the domain of production would be as illimitabh' as 
that of fantasy, which Avas the name giA^en to his goods. He aa as the 
originator of the product and name of fancy cassimeres, by far t\\Q most 
imi^ortant branch of our own cloth manufacture. The French, a heady 
skilled in making light gauzes of silk, first made hareges in 1818; a fab- 



36 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

lie witli a A^eft of avooI and Avarp of siHi. The English imitated the fab- 
ric by substituting cotton for silk in the warp. In 1826 M. Jourdain 
first produced, at the establishment of Troixvilles, that invaluable fabric, 
mousseUne delaine, made of fine wool, for printing. In 1831 the nianu- 
f\ictiu^e and printing of this tissue was fully developed. In 1838 he also 
created cMUis, made of a warp of silk organzin and a weft of fine wool. 
In 1833 first appeared at Paris, simultaneously introduced by three 
French houses, that fabric so appropriate for the consumption of the 
masses, the mousseUne delaine, with cotton warps. Tlie English adopted 
the manufacture in 1834-'35, and it prevails in every manufacturing 
nation. This fabric, which is muiuestionably a French idea, has been 
an inestimable blessing. Its products are counted by millions of pieces, 
and it enables the most humble female to clothe herself more comfort- 
ably and becomingly, and as cheaply, with wool, as she could 30 years 
ago with cotton. In 1858 plain hareges were introduced, for printing. 
These had before been made of colored threads ; at the same time halso- 
rine, having the effect of alternate fabrics of cloth and gauze, was created 
in v.'ool in imitation of a flaxen fabric. The foulards, with a warp of 
silk and weft of English combing, were introduced about thi^ time at 
St. Denis. The fabric, however, most appreciated by female taste, and 
the most unrivalled of modern woollen textures, and the only one not 
degraded by imitation, is that beautifid material which derives its name 
from the fleece of which it is made, the French merino. This tissue was 
first made at Eheims, in 1801, by a workman named Dauphinot Palloteau. 
The invention, for which a patent was asked, whether successfidly or not 
is not known, consisted solely in the adaptation of a pecidiar tj^e of 
wool, and not in the fabric. # ♦ * * » 

^' The creative genius of the French is more conspicuous in their arts of 
design and color,\as applied to all textile products. There is an unlim- 
ited application of these arts and a boundless field for novelties in the 
modern use of printed woollen goods. All the manufacturers of France, 
hi produchig new styles of fabric or figure, nourish their tastes by Par- 
isian ideas, the inheritance of the ancient splendor of Yersailles. Says 
M. Benoville: 'At Paris each consumer is a judge, and becomes a 
guide to the merchant and manufacturer. The Parisians appreciate 
only what is good, and consecrate oidy what is beautiful. The grisette 
as well as the grande dame, the artisan as well as the dandy, has received, 
and practices without knowing it, the traditions of art.' Although 
important commercial houses are now established for the sale of designs 
elaborated in this school, there is no manufacturer in Europe who scru- 
ples to copy French patterns. We have even so framed our patent laws 
that, while protecting all other foreign works of invention, we might 
appropriate with impunity the works of the Parisian pencil and pallet. 

'' Thus, by importation as well as imitation, all over the world, the true 
lovers of the beautiful, as well as Hhe sophists, economists, and calcu- 
lators,' whose advent, upon the fall of Maria Antohiette, is so patheti- 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 37 

cally lamented by Burke, acknowledge France, so gracefully symbol- 
ized by Eugenie, the empress of taste and fashion." 

CULTURE OF TASTE. 

Tlie modes in wliicL. taste is cultivated in France deserve study and 
imitation in this country. They are illustrated by the observations of 
Doctor TJre upon the habits of the silk weavers at Lyons. 

"Among the w^eavers of the place, the children and everybody con- 
nected mth devising patterns, much attention is devoted to everything 
in anj^ way connected with the beautiful, either in figure or color. 
Weavers may be seen in their holiday leisiu"e gathering flowers and 
grouping them in the most engaging combinations. They are contin- 
ually suggesting new designs to their emi)loyers, and are thus the fruit- 
ful soiu^ce of elegant patterns. 

''There is hardly any considerable house in Lyons in which there is not 
a partner Avho owes his place in it to his success as an artist. The town 
of Lyons is so conscious of the value of such studies that it contributes 
20,000 francs per annum to the government establishment of the School 
of Arts, which takes charge of every youth who shows an aptitude for 
drawing, or imitative design of any kind, applicable to manufactures. 
Hence aU the eminent painters, sculptors, even botanists and florists of 
Lyons, become eventually associated with the staple trade and devote 
to it their happiest concei:>tions. Li the principal school, that of St. 
Peter's, there are about 180 students, every one of whom receives from 
the town a gratuitous education in art for five years, comi)rehending 
delineations in anatomy, botany, architecture, and loom pattern drawing. 
A botanical garden is attached to the school. Tlie government allows 
3,100 francs a year to the school of Lyons. The school supplies the 
scholars with everything but the materials, and allows them to reap the 
benefit of their works. Their professor of painting is a man of distin- 
guished talent well known to connoisseurs. 

" The French manufactui'er justly considers that his pattern is the prin- 
cipal element of his success in trade, for the mere handiwork of weaving 
is a simi)le affair with the improved Jacquard loom. He therefore 
visits the school and picks out the boy who i)romises, bj^ taste and 
invention, to suit his purpose the best. He invites him to his home, 
boards him, and gives him a small salary, to be gradually ad^^anced. 
One gentleman told Doctor BoT\T:ing that he had three such youths in 
his emplo;^Tnent, to the youngest of whom he gave 1,000 francs, or £10, 
per annum. After three or foiu? years, if the young artist's success be 
remarkable, he may have his salary raised to double or treble that sum ; 
and when his reputation is once established, he is sure of the ofil^r of a 
partnership. Such is the general history of many of the schoolboys of 
Lyons. Even the French weaver, who earns only 15^. or 20d. a day, 
prides himself upon his knowledge of design j he will turn over several 
hundred patterns in his possession and descant on their relative merits, 



38 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

seldom erring' for iu predicting' tlie success of any new style. By tliis 
disposition the minds of the silk weaA^ers in France become elevated 
and refined, instead of being stultified in gin shops, as those of the 
English too frequently are. In floAver patterns the French designs are 
remarkably free from incongruities, being coi)ied from nature with sci- 
entific precision. They supply taste to the Avhole world, in i)roi)ortion 
to the extent of their exportations, which amount to 110,000,000 out of 
140,000,000. In the Lyons school collections of silk fabrics may be 
studied, extending over a period of 4,000 years, with explanations of 
the modes in which every pattern was produced, from the rude silk of 
the Eg^i>tian mummies to figm^ed webs of the last year." 

It is worthy of mention that the Chamber of Commerce of Lyons 
solicited and obtained from the French government permission for M. 
Chevrueil, the eminent director of the dye works of the Gobelins, to lec- 
ture to the artisans of Lyons uj^on the ''Laws of the simultaneous con- 
trast of colors," Avhicli he discovered and has so ably elucidated — laws 
which, once demonstrated, become a means of assorting colors so as to 
obtain their best possible effect, and make the i)rinciples of taste which 
g'OA ern the arrangement of colors as definite as the harmonies of music. 

DYEING m FEA:N^CE AXD CONTRIBUTIONS OF MODERN 

SCIENCE TO THE ART. 

There Avould be but a limited field for the exercise of taste in the tex- 
tile industry without the art of dyeing, which is to tissues what the sum- 
mer's sun is to the landscape, the source of aU which delights the eye in 
light and color. While admiring the splendors of impression and color 
displayed upon the fabrics of the present day, we shoidd not forget how 
largely they are due to the intelligence and science of the French states- 
men and saA^ans of former generations. 

The gTcat Colbert in establishing manufactures in France, made 
improATments in the art of dyeing the object of special care. He pub- 
lished in 1G72 a set of regidations "for the dyeing of wools and the 
nuiiuifacture of atooIs of all colors," and showed that dyeing Avas an object 
(leserA'ing public attention from the additional A^alue aa hich it confers 
upon many of the articles of commerce. "If the manufactories of wool, 
sillc, and thread are to be reckoned among those Avhich contribute most 
to the support of commerce, dyeing," says Colbert, "which giA'es them 
that striking A^ariety of color by Avhich they resemble Avhat is most beau- 
tiful in nature, may be considered as the soul of tissues, Avithout Avhich 
the body coidd scarcely exist. Wool and silk, the natural color of Avhich 
rather indicates the rudeness of former ages than the genius and 
improA'ement of the present, Avould be in no great request if the art of 
dyeing did not furnish attractions Avhich recommeiul them cacu to the 
most barbarous nations. All Aisible objects are distinguished and 
recommended by colors, but for the puri)oses of connnerce it is not only 
necessary that they should be beautiful, but that they should be good, 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 39 

and tliat their duration should equal tliat of the material which they 
adorn." 

These ideas hore fruit in the magnificent tai)estries of the Gobelins 
manufactory, and more usefully in the famous black cloths of Sedan, 
both of which are due to this great statesman. The art of dyeing was 
also during his time applied to printing cottons. The industry of calico 
printing was founded in Holland during the 17th century by a native of 
France. It was planted by a Frenchman in 1G90 u^^on the banks of the 
Thames, and established about that time by a Frencli refugee at I^^euf- 
chatel, from Avheuce it was brought back again to the country of its 
nativity by the celebrated Oberkami^f. The regulation of the art of 
dyeing continued after the time of Colbert to be an object of govern- 
mental care in France ; and Hellot, Macquer, and Berthollet, all eminent 
chemists, were successively appointed to sui^erintend the i^ractice of 
dyeing and to cultivate the branches of science Avliich had a tendency 
to promote the i)rogress of the art. Each of these chemists left practi- 
cal treatises upon dyeing, of great value. The Avork of Berthollet, pub- 
lished in 1791, became the standard book of the age, since it contained 
not only a detailed account of the i)ractical operations of the art, but 
theoretical views of the principles upon which it was founded. These 
works, and that of Ohai)tal, who while occupying the of&ce of minister 
of the interior, had become interested in the art, contained nearly all 
that was valuable respecting the art of dyeing in any language at the 
close of the last century. The best informed Englishmen of that period, 
such as Mr. Anderson, author of the ^'History of Commerce," and Mr. 
Howe, author of an essay on bleaching, did not hesitate to admit the 
sui)eriority in brilliancy of color of the articles of French manufacture of 
this period, and to attribute it to the fostering care of the government. 

The Exx^osition of Paris has called forth a beautiful study on the dyeing 
and i)rintiiig of fabrics from M. De Kaeppilin. This treatise, the more 
elaborate work of M. Sclmtzenberger, published in 18G7, under the aus- 
l)ices of the Industrial Society of Mulhouse, and the admirable report of 
Dr. Hoffman, i>resident of the Chemical Society of London, published in 
18C3, furnish ami^le information as to the progress of the art in this century. 
A signal step in the advancement of this art was the discovery by the cele- 
brated Yauquelin, in the early part of the present century, of the metal 
chromium the compounds of whicli have since had so many industrial apidi- 
cations, especially in the printing of mousselines and calicoes, as in the 
chromate of lead first prepared for i)rinting cottons by Lassarque in 1819, 
and the oxide of chromium combined a\ ith arsenious acid to form green, 
applied by Courez. In 1810 Loffet introduced the process of fixing colors 
by means of steam to the printing of cashmere shawls, thus dispensing with 
the immersion of the fabrics in a bath of tincture. During the years 1837, 
'38, '39, '40, and '45, the beautiful discovery of Loffet received its most 
remarkable ai)plication in the fabrication of mousselines of wool, and 
wool with wari)S of cotton, by means of colors fixed by steam. It was 



40 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

this applicatiou wliicli gave the vast extension to the manufacture of 
printed woollen tissues, which constitute at present the most imi)ortant 
part of the combed- wool industry of France, and the only branch which 
has been successfully piu'sued in this country. The api)lication of steam 
colors to cotton fabrics was greatly advanced by the discovery of stan- 
nate of soda by Mr. Steiner, which enables the colorist to give to the 
steam print a solidity and lustre in which it was wanting before. 

Of the modern discoveries in chemistry there is none more brilliant 
than that of the cheap production of ultra-nuuine, which was effected 
by Guimet hi 1828, the right being seciu'ed to him by patent. This 
material, affording a blue color of surpassing intensity and i^urity, was 
formerly sui)phed by levigatmg the powder of the mineral Uqns lazuli, 
obtained in small masses from Siberia. Its value in the arts was 125 
francs an ounce, more than its weight in gold. The artificial ultra-marine 
is produced by combining the same chemical substances, the soda, silica, 
suli)hur, and alumina which are found in the lapis lazuli, and is equal 
in brilliancy of color to the natural ultra-marine. Its cost has been 
reduced from 6,000 francs to 6 francs the kilogram. The first impressions 
were made with this color, fixed by albumen upon mousselines delaine, 
in 1831, and in the richest fabrics of France this beautifid color replaces 
the didler tints formed by indigo and j)russian blue, the latter dye hav- 
ing been fixed upon Avoollen tissues as a color of impression in 183G. 

We must not pass over another series of inventions, although they 
have special relations to the printing of cotton fabrics. For the printing 
of cottons madder is by far the most im^^ortant material on account of 
the permanency of its dyes. The extensive demand for this material 
and the desirableness of obtaining brighter tints has made it an object 
of the. highest imi^ortance to free the coloring ininciple of the madder 
root from extraneous matters. The French chemical manufacturers have 
achieved remarkable results in this dkection. In 1826 MM. Eobicpiet 
and Collin discovered in the madder root the princii)le alizarine, formerly 
a rose-colored dye, which the English afterwards introduced as a com- 
mercial article under the name of pincoffine. In 1828 purpurine, also 
derived from madder, was indicated hj the same chemist as a chenucal 
species distinct from alizarine. It fiunishes a more vivid red than the 
alizarine, and is now j)repared commercially. Since the period last men- 
tioned the coloring matter of madder has been concentrated in tlie form 
known as garancine and flowers of madder. These materials are prepared 
commercially in France in vast quantities, their use i)roving greatly 
advantageous, both in respect to economy and improvement of color. 
The dyeing powers of purpurine and alizarine are remarkable, that of 
pur])urine being equal to forty or fifty times the same quantity of madder, 
and that of alizarine to that of thirty-eiglit times that of madder. These 
new substances have been found valuable in dyeing avooI. AVool morda iited 
with alum and cream of tartar gives, with purpurine, a briUiant crimson 



WOOL AXD MA^X^FACTURES OF WOOL. 41 

red, and mordanted with tartar and a solution of tin gives, witli pnrpnrine, 
a scarlet almost as fine as that from cochineal. 

The advantages resulting from the recent improvements by wliich the 
coloring matter of madder is obtained in a purer and more concentrated 
form will be rendered more obvious by a brief statement of the usual 
processes in printing. These may be divided into three principal classes : 
First, where the colors are fixed without a mordant, as in dyeing 
blue Avith indigo, either of a uniform tint, or where the whites are 
reserved by an application which prevents the contact of the dye upon 
the parts to remain uncolored. Second, where mordants are first printed 
upon the tissues, which are afterwards sul)jected to subsequent operations 
of tinctures, as by immersion in the dyeing liquid, &c. This process 
until very recently has been necessary for all madder dyes. Third, where 
the mordants and coloring matters are previously combined together to 
form the color to be impressed, which is called a '^ color of application." 
In this last class of processes the printed tissues are suspended in a 
vessel filled with steam from boiling water, which i)roduces the same 
effect as dying b^^ immersion in a liquid bath, the colors combining 
directly with the fibres of the tissues. By means of the steaming process, 
the operator can print and fix at once an indefinite number of colors, 
and terminate by the two or three operations of printing, fixing, and 
washing a work, which formerly required many weeks when accomplished 
by the process of dyeing after the printing with mordants ; almost all the 
coloring materials known could be fixed by the third process upon tis- 
sues of wool, silk, or cotton. The coloring matter of madder alone has 
not been isolated in sufficiently advantageous conditions of assimilation, 
that the process of fixing by steam could be applied to it. The discov- 
ery of the different i)urifications of madder has i)laced it in the power of 
the printer of tissues to apply the expeditious process of steam i^rinting 
to the most permanent and useful of all vegetable colors. The most 
imi>ortant use of madder as a color of ai)plication has been achieved 
onl^^ vrithin a few months. Yery beautiful fabrics printed by this i)rocess 
at two establishments, one in France and the other in Bohemia, were 
displayed at the Exi:>osition. jM. De Kaeppilin, referring to these fab- 
rics, says, '^It is evident that the long and dilficult operations required 
for fixing the vegetable coloring material on tissues are now quite sim- 
plified, and that the new manner of fixing the coloring material of mad- 
der, all prepared and combined vrith the different mordants, being allied 
with the beautiful and simx)le fabrication of colors from aniline, vnll 
achieve for the industry of printing tissues its most beautiful conquest. 
Instead of the ancient steam colors, which in respect to solidity left mucli 
to desire, the madder colors, married as it w^ere with the briUiant colors 
derived from coal tar and the solid and resistant mineral colors, like ultra- 
marine and chrome green of Guignet, will replace the fugitive colors of 
the dye woods. The fabrication will be more perfect, and ^Aill reunite 
solidity and brilliancy of colors with the delicacy of execution which can 
be obtained only by machines which print mechanically." 



42 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

It lias long been known that certain species of liclien exposed simul- 
taneously to the action of ammonia, moisture, and a moderate tempera- 
ture, gradually acquire a deep i)uri)le color, and the property' of dyeing 
wool aiul silk Avith i)ure and brilliant tints. The pasty and woody mass 
containing the coloring matter is knoA^ai as cudbear. The coloring mat- 
ter extracted by means of an alkali and sei^arated from the woody por- 
tions is known as archil or orscUle. A new kind of archil was intro- 
duced in 1856 by MM. Guinon, Marnas, and Bonnet, under the name of 
French purple, in the form of lime lake. It furnishes very fine and piu'e 
mauve and dahlia tints upon silk and wool without mordants, and mixes 
easily with other coloring matters, such as ultramarine, indigo, carmine, 
cochineal, aniline red, &c., producing the most varied and delicate tints. 
The manufacture of French purple, although at one time extensively 
prosecuted, has been greatly diminished in imi)ortance by the competition 
of the coal-tar purple. 

In 1854 MM. Hartmann and Oordillet succeeded in fixing upon fab- 
rics the green coloring matter of leaves. In 1851 and 1852 the famous 
Chinese green, called Lo-Jcao Avas introduced. Subsequently M. Charven, 
of Lyons, obtained the coloring principle of the Lo-l'ao from a weed indig- 
enous to Europe, the Rliamnus catharticus, for which he receiA^ed a 
gold medal. The Chinese green Avas especially admired on account of 
the beautifal green shades which the fabrics dyed AAdth it assumed in 
artificial light. MM. Guinon, Marnas, and Bonnet discoA^ered the means 
of producing at less cost shades of green which preserve their character 
under artificial light by the use of Prussian blue with picric acid. It is 
a curious fiict that, Avhile the greens produced by indigo and picric acid 
appear blue in artificial light, the dyes i:>roduced by Prussian blue and 
picric acid appear green. 

A remarkable and very beautiful amaranthine red was first commer- 
cially i^repared from uric acid in 1856. This dye, called murexide^ created 
a great sensation, but its use was of short duration, as a more A^Aid and 
more easily applied tint was about this time obtained from aniline, and 
the murexide was objectionable because the color, though unaffected by 
the sun, was destroyed by sulphurous fumes, as in the atmosphere of 
London, impregnated Avith sulphur from coal. This coloring material is 
peculiarly interesting from the circumstance that it is nearly identical 
in conq)osition Avitli the ancient puiple deriA^ed from the murex. Pro- 
fessor Iloftinan records, as he shared, the triumph which Avas felt in 
Liebig's laboratory when a few grains of this substance were first obtained 
in a state of purity, and the rapidity with which the scientific discoA^ery 
was made practical in the arts. Wlien the manufacture reached its cul- 
minating point, the Aveekly ;^ield of murexide in one factory only amounted 
to no less than V2 (nvt., a quantity in the production of Avhich 12 tons of 
guano were consumed. 

The long-sought-for rediscovery of the Tyrian dye Avas hardly attained 
before it Avas replaced by a i)roduct of modern science. The year 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 43 

185G was remarkable in the history of dyeing as the epoch of the most 
comi)lete revolution of the art. It was the period of the practical dis- 
covery of the first aniline colors. Tlie property which aniline, a pro- 
duct from the hydrocarbons of the coal series, possesses of forming- 
colored compounds, was indicated by Eunge in 1856. Tliis indication 
was followed by the discovery by a young English (chemist, named Per- 
Idns, of the means of preparing commercially from aniline a coloring 
substance of great intensity of line and permanency, which is knoT\ii in 
the arts as the ''Perkins violet." This was almost immediately followed 
by the commercial prei^aration in France, by Yerguin, of the aniline red. 
The extraordinary qualities of these products, the wonderfid facility with 
which they could be ai)plied to wool and silk, and the freshness and 
widness of their hues, stimulated the scientiiic and x>ractical chemists 
in France and England to search for new com^^ounds from the same 
source, and to cheapen the i:)roduction of those known. The most 
imijortant scientific residts were obtained by the English chemist Hoff- 
man, who discovered and prepared the colorless rosaniline, a base from 
which all the reds, besides many other colors, may be formed, by differ- 
ent reagents. The colors derived from the hydrocarbons of the coal 
series are as various and as vivid as the hues of the flowers. 

The aniline colors whose use in the arts has been fully established by 
IDractice, are : 

1. The aniline, or Perkins violet, called also rosaline, indesine, mauve, 
aneleine, hamaline, and violene. 

2. The aniline reds with a rosaline base, called also fuschine, azaleine, 
and magenta. 

3. The blues of rosanaline, Lyons blue, blue de lumiere. 

4. The rosaniline violets, different in hue from the Perkins violet. 

5. Hoffman's violet. 

6. Imi^erial dahlia. 

7. Aniline green. 

To these may be added an orange color, chrysaniline, and colors pro- 
duced from the oxidation of aniline, but not directly api)lied 5 a gTcen 
called emeraldine, a blue called azurine, and the intense aniline black, 
developed only on vegetable fibres. 

The use of these colors gives a marked character to the dyed tissues of 
the present age. The great change effected by them was remarkably 
illustrated at the Exposition by a display of parallel series of wools dyed 
by the ancient, and the new or aniline processes. The aniline hues were 
predominant in the richly colored fiibrics of the Exposition, and, adopt- 
ing the figure of Colbert, that '' color is the soul of tissues, without which 
the body could scarcely exist," we might say that these colors fix the 
2)sy dialog leal character of the fabrics of the present day. Among the 
wonders of modern science what is stranger than this, that the gigantic 
plants buried in the coal measures of the ancient world are made to bloom 
A^dth all the tints of the primeval flowers, upon the tissues of modern 
industry I 



44 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITIOX. 

Artistic reasons are not the only ones wliicli have led to the i^revailiug 
nse of the new dyes ; economical reasons have had equal weight, espe- 
cially in the woollen industry. One of the most remarkable characters 
of the coloring materials derived from aniline is the i^owerfid affinity 
which they possess for materials of animal origin, or nitrogenized sub- 
stances, and especially for wool, silk, albumen, gluten, and caseine. The 
affinity for these substances is so great that there is no need of any mor- 
dant. In the application to vegetable tissues, such as cotton, it is only 
necessary- to animalize the fibre with albumen. These colors may not 
only be applied vrith the greatest facility in dyeing by immersion, but 
add vastly to the economy of printing mousselines or calicos, as they 
may be used as " colors of application" in steam printing. Besides, all 
these colors are now sold commercially in a state of great purity, and 
very often in crystals. The colorist has rarely anything more to do than 
to dissolve the i3roduct in a suitable vehicle, and to put it in presence of 
the fibre, in the conditions in which it can adhere, which for wool and 
silk are extremely simple. 

The great problem in the art which science has now to resolve is to 
give more stability of color to these magnificent products of modern 
chemistry. The chemist who has fui^nished many of the facts above 
given, M. De Kaeppihn, is hopeful that this will be accomphshed. He 
says: " Some of these results have already been obtained; above aU, 
upon tissues of wool and silk. It is CAddent that colors derived from 
archiUs, such as the violets and reds, are more fugitive than the Perkins 
violet or new violets from rosaniline of Fourier and Chappal ; that tlie 
roses of saffloAver or cochineal are not more stable than the roses of aniline, 
and that aniline black is not only superior to all other blacks, but that 
it is wholly unalterable and of complete stability upon tissues of cotton." 

Before closing this imperfect review of the relation of chemical arts to 
the woollen industry, it is due to American science to observe that the 
name of the lamented Dr. Dana, of Lowell, is most honorably mentioned 
by French savans among those who have rendered important service to 
the art of dyeing and j)rintmg tissues. The credit is awarded to him of 
the introduction of lime in the operation of bleaching for the purpose of 
saponifying the fatty matter contained in the crude tissues. He thus 
completed the great discovery of BerthoUet of the bleaching qualities of 
chlorine. 

OHARAGTERISTIO CENTRES IN FRANCE. 

The highly philosophical work entitled "La Laine," being one of a series 
of studies upon the regime of manufactiu'es, by Louis Reybaud, member 
of the Institute, accomi)anied by numerous statistical documents, pub- 
lished in 18G7, together vnX\i the treatise on the industry of card- wool, 
by M. Randonig, and the more elaborate treatise upon the industry of 
combed wool, by M. Benoville, published in 1851, furnish reliable data 
for special descriptions of the most important centres of the woollen 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 45 

industry in France. Tlie former work is tlie i3rincipal autliority for the 
statements wliieli follow. 

ELBEUF. 

In tlie woollen industry ISTormandy stands in tlie first rank among- 
tlie i)resent provinces of France. The genius and taste of the ^ov- 
man race are the inheritance t)f a remote antiquity. The country of 
Canx and the valley of Ange were renowned for their fabrics during the 
period of the Eoman empire, and furnished plaid cloths, woven in squares, 
the original types of the Scotch tartans, for clothing the Eoman armies. 
There are traces of this industry at Elbeuf in the seventh century, and 
of considerable activity in tlie 13th. The industry was arrested by the 
English invasion of the 14th century, and the inaction was prolonged by 
the wars of the Frond. In the 17th century the manufacture of cloth 
was revived throngh i^rivileges obtained from the founder of the French 
protective system, Colbert, and became established upon their present 
firm foundation through the industrial war which ]S"apoleon Avaged against 
England by means of the continental blockade. It is not strange, there- 
fore, to find at Elbeuf one of the most characteristic centres of the woollen 
industiy in the world. The whole life of Elbeuf is its card- wool manu- 
facture, which supports a population of 19,000, and, including that which 
is floating, a i^opulation of 30,000, and furnishes a i)rodiict of 85,000,000 
francs. Elbeuf ranks first of aU towns in this manufacture in the fabri- 
cation of novelties or fancy fabrics of clothing wool. Other towns can 
rival it in the strength of goods and cheapness of price, but in every- 
thing requiring ornament, delicacy of tints, taste, and elegance in card- 
wool fabrics Elbeuf stands above all rivals. It is the point above all 
others where the American manufacturers and designers can acquire 
that taste which is unattainable A\'itliout the study of models. The cus- 
tomers of Elbeuf are the principal tailors and great commission-houses 
of Paris, and they are usually the judges who determine whether a nov- 
elty shall be a success. Cases are mentioned where a manufacturer has 
distributed 40,000 francs' worth of i^atterns of a single fabric into the 
hands of commercial travellers, thus sowing that he may reap. Tlie 
harvest is sometimes enormous. The cases are not infrequent where a 
happy chance, or a fugitive fancy, has founded a fortune. In the com- 
petition of novelties, none of which last more than a season, but Avliich 
establish modes which extend like the wave of a tide all over the world 
of fashion, the tide being at its height in a distant x)ro\ince when it has 
ebbed at its source, there is a novelty and activity which imj^resses 
itself upon the physiognomy of the inhabitants of the town. 

In the manufacture of novelties and fancy stuff's the designers perform 
a very important i^art; for the success of a season depends upon their 
inspiration. A good designer makes his own terms, and the manufac- 
turers usually secure their services by large rewards. In many cases 
they have an interest in the sale of their designs, and sometimes become 



46 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

partners in houses whose fortunes are made by their taste. The design 
of a fabric is not difficult, and requires no great preparatory study, as it 
is only necessary to combine some hues and colors to produce a certain 
harmony of effects. It is a work which it Avould seem any one could do, 
and ;>'et it requires a pecidiar gift. There is a precise point which the 
designer must reach, and not overstep ; a shade which will be accepted 
when no other Avould find favor ; a contrast* which will be agreeable on 
one stuff* and displease on another; and a management of mere nothings, 
or little accidents, which appear to have no signification, but Avliich make 
success or failure. The French designer is restrained by the public sen- 
timent of his country, to which he must never do violence, which requires 
elegance without affectation, and, in the midst of perxjetual caprices, 
demands what is natural in everything that is original. 

Next to the designers rank the AYorkmen, Avho act as their interpreters, 
by translating the design ui^on the loom or the Jacquard cards, and arrange 
the warps and harnesses so that the Aveaver may perform the mechan- 
ical work. These workmen are all highly paid. Another class of Avork- 
men are the ecliantilleurs^ or men Avho execute the first specimen pattern, 
by which the probable effect of a design is determined. These men are 
required to be absolutely trustworthy, esi)ecially when many specimen 
l>atterns are made to secure orders for goods. Some of the large estab- 
lishments keep their AA^orkmen of this class in the utmost seclusion. 
There are some establishments Avhich make the furnishing of specimen 
I)atterns for the smaller establishments their sole business. 

There is one peculiar feature in the woollen industry of Elbeuf aa Inch 
has greatly stimulated its extension. It is the facilities for credit which 
are afforded to the manufacturer. Cost of capital is the obstacle of aU 
others against Avhich the woollen manufacturer has chiefly to contend, on 
account of the dearness of raw material. Usually the wool manufacturer 
obtains his raw material only for cash, or on short credit. At Elbeuf there 
are scA^eral houses which are at the same time banks and warehouses, and 
AA^hich giA^e credit for all operations of trade ; but the peculiarity of these 
houses at Elbeuf is that they sell the raw material not for notes i)ayable 
at a fixed time, but on an account current. Any manufacturer who Avants 
a lot of wool can select it, fix his price, and carry it aAA^ay. The payment 
is almost discretionary aa ith the purchaser. Ev^ery facility is giA'en for 
payment, Avhich may be made from time to time, as the manufacturer 
gets his returns. The account-current is the mirror in Avhich the manu- 
facturer has reflected the state of his affairs. This system, under Avhich 
personal character is the gauge of soh^ency, has given great vitality to 
the business of Elbeuf. Alongside of the hereditary houses of this 
ancient town there are great numbers of children of their Avorks, Avho, 
rising from Avorkmen to overseers, Inu^e finally exchanged their chevrons 
for epaulettes. It is this infusion of iicav blood Avhich preserves the char- 
acteristic vitality and freshness of the Avoollen industry of Elbeuf. It is 
unnecessary to say how desirable it is that this system shoidd be imitated 



I 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 47 

here. It offers a means of improving the condition of the Avorkmen cer- 
tainly not less practical than the system of co-operation which is now 
being so earnestly recommended to public favor, but which does not 
seem of easy application in the textile industry. 

A characteristic feature in the manufacturing system of Elbeuf is that 
while there are many complete establishments where wool enters in the 
fleece and issues in finished fabrics, the dominant industry of this town 
is the application of distinct i^rocesses of manufactiu'e, single establish- 
ments being devoted wholly to preparing wool, others to carding, or 
spinning, or dyeing. Each of the processes of Avashing the avooI, dry- 
ing, biuring, carding, supplying i)atterns, weaving, spinning, fulling, 
gigging, i^ressing, and packing, constitute sei)arate industries. There 
are 20 great dyeing establishments, 12 for spinning, 50 for work- 
ing up waste, many drying establishments, &c., and many houses Avhicli 
are commercial rather than industrial, uniting these different industries 
to produce fabrics which they put in the market. This system is very 
advantageous to the small fabricant who has but little capital at com- 
mand. He can choose for each kind of operation the si)ecial establish- 
ment where it is done best, and at the least exi>ense. The advantages 
are so marked that many Avealthy houses avail themselves of it. It is 
well worthy of consideration Avhether this system could not be advan- 
tageously introduced in some of the great manufacturing centres in this 
country. It prevails here to a limited extent, as for spinning yarns. It 
has recently been applied to washing and x)reparing avooI. It may be 
found, as has been the experience at Elbeuf, that where both systems, 
that of concentration and dispersion of labor, preA'ail, it is advanta- 
geous to the general advancement of the manufacturing industry. 

All the regions Avhiere the woollen industry is x)ursued in France have 
a comparatiA^ely imi^roA^ed aspect, shoAving the increase of wealth Avhich 
manufactiu-es liaA^e added to the national resources of the soil. The cot- 
tages Avith only a single room are less frequent, and here and there may 
be seen the dAA^elling of a Avorkman indicating a comfort and decency of 
living AAhich is rare among the peasantry of France. Yet the condition 
of the common workmen at Elbeuf, judged by the American standard, 
is far from being easy or euAdable. The whole number working AAdthin 
and Avithout the tovm. is estimated at 24,000. 

The folio Aving statement of their aA^erage wages is deriA^ed from statis- 
tical documents prei^ared since 1864 by a former mayor and i^resident 
of the Chamber of Commerce of Elbeuf: 

For children, limited to 8 hours' Avork, 75 centimes to 1 franc 10 cen- 
times, (equal to 15 cents to 22 cents 5) for those Avorking 12 hours, 1 franc 
25 centimes to 1 franc 50 centimes, (equal to 25 events to 30 cents:) youths 
from 10 to 18 years old, 1 franc 50 centimes, (e(pial to 30 cents;) work- 
men by the day, 2 francs to 3 francs, (equal to 40 cents to GO cents;) men 
working by the task or piece, 3 francs to 4 francs 50 centimes, (e(iual to 
60 cents to 90 cents) — these are more numerous than the day Avorkmen ; 



48 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

workmen working by the day, 1 franc 10 centimes to 2 francs, (eqnal to 
22 cents to 40 cents j) women working by the piece, 1 franc 75 centimes 
to 2 francs 50 centimes, (eqnal to 35 cents to 50 cents.) It is estimated 
by M. Eeyband tliat in the most ordinary cases the yearly wages for men 
are 750 fi-ancs, ($150;) for women, 525 fi^ancs, ($105;) for yonng men and 
girls, 375 francs, ($75;) for children, 225 francs, ($15.) 

The prices of food and lodghig are relatively high at Elbenf. Meat 
costs 1 fi^anc 60 centimes the kilogram, (or 17 cents per pound,) and 
potatoes 5 to 6 francs the bushel. The food of the men, such only as 
serves merely to support life, costs per year 350 francs, ($70;) house 
rent, 125 francs, ($25;) other necessary expenses for maintenance, IGO to 
180 francs, ($32 to $36.) On this scale of Uving the workman is able to 
eat meat only on Sunday, the only animal food on weekdays being salt- 
herring or mackerel; and even with this meagre sustenance there is 
hardly any margin for saving or amusement. The invariable conse- 
quence of the reduction of the compensation of labor to the bare neces- 
sities of life, the system which free trade demands to have applied in 
this country, is shoAvn at Elbeuf in the moral degradation of the work- 
ing classes'! The consumption of alcohol at the drinking shops is, for 
the whole population of the toT\^l, 16 litres (28 pints) per head, or, deduct- 
ing the women and the children, 50 to 60 litres (from 80 to 100 pints) for the 
average consumption of the frequenters of the cabaret. " On the other 
hand," says M. Eeyband, ^' the women give themselves up to other tastes. 
Theii* toilettes consume their savings, and their scruples are not in general 
very vivid as to the means of increasing the same when it is insufacient." 
One proof of the general looseness of morals among the whole people is 
the custom which prevails among men and women to resort for the night's 
lodging to vast dormitories, where both sexes are mingled in a common, 
unlighted apartment, mthout partitions, and wholly free from siu^veil- 
lance or restraint. Another evidence of the low morality of the Avork- 
men is the common practice among the hand weavers to sequestrate a 
portion of the yarn delivered to them to be Avoven. It is estimated that 
some v\ orkmen by this means add a quarter to a thkd to their stipulated 
pay. It is thus that labor revenges itsePF for insufficient Avages. 

In looking at the woollen industry at this important centre, as a Avhole, 
we find this industry, viewed merely as an art, in the highest state of 
perfection, and presenting in taste and processes everything A\'ortliy of 
imitation; but, whde art thrives, and employers are emiched, labor is 
degraded, morality is depressed, and humanity suffers. When Ave see 
the benevolent men of France candidly publislung such facts as are stated 
above, and acknoAvledging and deploring the evils of the social system 
inherited from the old feudalism of Europe, shall Ave not submit to the 
slight sacrifice demanded to j-econcile, in this country, Avhat Europe has 
failed to do— progress in the industrial arts, Avith a just compensation to 
labor? 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 49 

SEDAN. 

The woollen industry of Sedan, altliongli of the same general character 
as that AYliich flourishes with greater prosperity at Elbeuf, deserves 
special notice from the celebrity of its products. The manufocture of 
cloths was piu?sued by isolated workmen from Flanders, when Colbert 
applied his vast energies to give a national character to the manufac- 
tiu-es of France. He gave to Abbe^dlle, Van Eobais, a legacy chronicled 
by Thiers as more valuable to France than the conquests of Louis XVI, 
which struck down the Spanish x^ower, and to Sedan, Nicholas Cadeau, 
a master in his art, who soon converted the modest production of the 
hamlets into an urban manufacture. Establishments for dyeing, card- 
ing, and dressing were brought within the walls and became protected 
by the cannon of the citadel. That which, above all, x^romoted the suc- 
cess of the manufactiu'es of this city after their first establishment, was 
the fidelity with which its cloths were fabricated; the marks of its 
fabrics were, like the marks on Swedish iron, or the tower mark on Eng- 
lish silver, infallible seals of excellence. The black and blue cloths pre- 
served their reputation from generation to generation, and many houses 
of Sedan are still faithful to the ancient traditions, as proved by one 
gold medal and eight silver medals, and none of less degree, awarded at 
the Exj)osition. 

It is singular that an invention originating in Sedan should have 
changed the ancient system which made excellence in material and 
fabrication the essential qualities of cloths. This invention was that of 
the modern styles of fancy cloths, and was due to one of those happy 
chances which often lead to great results when im]3roved by intelligence. 
M. Bonjean, an educated manufactiu'er, one day found among his j^ro- 
ducts a piece of goods which was defective in body on account of the 
dead wool of which it was fabricated. It occurred to him that he could 
give body to the wool by incorporating some fibres of sUk in the warj). 
IJpon combining the wool with the silk he found that the latter was not 
incorporated in the fabric, but made a distinct design upon the cloth. 
Imx)roving upon the idea here suggested by using the Jacquard loom, he 
finished a fabric and sent it to a leading tailor at Paris. To his aston- 
ishment he had an immediate order for more goods of the same styles ; 
still more variety was given to the fabrics, and the stuffs received the 
name of the Bonjean iiatterns. This was the origin of the fancy cassi- 
meres, and other stuffs, which noAv comi)rise three-quarters of the pro- 
duction of card- wool goods, but which, unhappily for Sedan, built u^) the 
city of Elbeuf, the most formidable of its rivals. 

Leaving the consideration of the technical for that of the social aspects 

of the industry at Sedan, we are interested in observing the superior 

morality of the Avorkmen of this city, which is ])artly attributed to a 

smaller population, as compared toother manufacturing cities of France, 

but mainly to most honorable efforts on the part of the manufacturing 

emi^loyers. 
4 W 



50 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

The increased use of strong alcoliolic drinks in consequence of the 
dearness of the wines, has caused drunkenness to become a i^revailing 
evil among the manufacturing population of France. ^'For the first 
time in the course of my travels/' says Mr. Reybaud, "I have found at 
Sedan a poi^ulation which was able to defend itself against drunkenness. 
The first honor is due to the chief of the manufacturing houses. By a 
concert which shoidd be taken for an example, they hare closed the doors 
of their ateliers against workmen with whom this ^ice was notorious, 
who themselves consent to this exclusion. The strife has been a long 
one, and with any other i)opulation, perhaps, the reform would not have 
succeeded. At Sedan it has had full success : acting first upon those 
less hardened, it has ended by reclaiming or imi^roving the most obdu- 
rate. Towards those who, with the best intentions, would occasionally 
yield to temi)tation, they have shown indulgence, admitting them to the 
benefit of successive amendments; provided it was recognized -that the 
cases were less frequent and less grave, their presence in the mill was 
tolerated. The condition Avas that they should make a sincere confession, 
or that the Avife, the party so deeply interested, should ask favor for the 
husband's delinquency. The results of this reform are exhibited by the 
statement given of the habits of the workmen of Sedan by a former 
member of the assembly : ' The working population are very regular. 
The life in the family is the rule. The religious sentiment prevails in 
the mass and manifests itself in acts. The workmen do not frequent the 
cabaret on Sunday. They pass the day with their wives and children in 
the little garden which is the object of their ambition. Education is 
spreading every day; a man of 30 years who cannot read and vn:ite is a 
rare exception.'" The economy i:)roduced by these habits, and cheapness 
of food and lodging, enable the workmen to sustain themselves upon the 
small wages ; Avhich are, for spinners working by the piece, from 3 francs 
to 5 francs 50 centimes (60 cents to $1 10) j)er day of 12 hours. The 
women, spinning by the inece, earn 1 franc 50 centimes (30 cents) per 
day. The weavers, working by the piece, can earn 4 francs (80 cents) 
per day. The ordinary workmen receive 20 centimes (4 cents) per hour, 
or 2 francs 40 centimes (48 cents) per day. The women average 1 fianc 
20 centimes, (24 cents,) and children 75 centimes (15 cents) per day. The 
absolutely necessary expenses of liAing of a single Avorkman earning 
750 francs ($150) a year are stated at 001 francs, ($132 20;) being for 
food and lodging, 531 francs, ($106 20;) tobacco, 20 francs, ($4;) wash- 
ing and general exi)enses, clothing, &c., 100 francs, ($20;) leaA^ing the 
pittance of 89 francs ($17 80) for luxuiies and saAdngs. It is supposed 
in the aboAC estimate that the Avorkman, as is the usual i)ractice, eats 
animal food once a day. 

REGION DU MIDI. 

The region of the middle of France comprises the third important cen- 
tre of the card-Avool industry of that country, but contrasting strongly 



I 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 51 

in its cliaracter witli that of the districts before described. Its principal 
points are Lodeve^ Mazamet, and Bedarienx, while there are many less 
important localities. The common character of the prodnction of this 
gronp, Mazamet only being excepted, is its adaptation to popidar con- 
snmi)tion. The fonndation of the maiinfactnre consists in the fabrication 
of strong- cloths for workmen and army nse, recommending themselves 
rather by their serviceableness than theu" ai)i)earance. A noticeable fea- 
ture of the woollen industry of this group is, that the goods for common 
use are not trashy imitations of showy fabrics, but i)retend to be no more 
than they are, common but serviceable goods. The manufticturers of 
this group supply nearly all the cloths consumed in the French army. 
The government demands only two conditions, a moderate price and 
faithfulness in execution. The rigid requirements of the government 
cause the most severe scrutiny on the part of the manufacturer, and have 
cultivated honesty of fabrication among the workmen. The absolute 
reliability with respect to these fabrics has opened a very important trade 
in cloths with the stationary people of the east, this trade having been 
established some generations ago. 

Bedarieux, with a population of 9,000 souls, has 5,000 woollen workmen 
and as many more in the environs. The goods are manufactured princi- 
pally with reference to exportation ; through the means of commercial 
houses at Marseilles it sends its products to the markets of the Levant, 
or the French possessions in Africa and often to India. In this trade 
certain conditions have to be scrui^ulously observed to maintain the 
honor of the marks upon the cloths and guard the confidence of the 
eastern customers. For example : for the Levant there are required two 
sorts of cloths, the stamboid, which is a heavj' cloth, and the mahout, 
which is a light cloth. The weight of the stuff must correspond exactly 
to the denomination assigned to it. For the army cloths 40 kilograms 
of wool give regularly 43 metres of stuff. For the cloths destined for the 
Levant the proportions are lowered. The stamboul, which is used for 
cloaks, requires only 44 kilograms of wool for 50 metres of cloth. The 
mahout requires 37 kilograms of wool for GO metres of stufl:', the price 
and quality decreasing in the ratio of the quantity of material employed. 
In the east the stuffs are both measured and weighed, and the goods are 
not received uidess the measure and weight conform. With the fixed 
habits of the east the consumption of these goods is constant and regu- 
lar." Here is a case where an im^^ortant trade supplyiug all the armies 
of France, and an immense and increasing i^opidation at the east, has 
been established for generations mainly upon the commercial honor of 
the manufacturer. Our former trade with the east in brown drillings is 
a similar example. 

The manufixcturers of this groui) are not wholly Umited to the special- 
ties above mentioned Bedarieux has almost the monopoly of cloth for 
caps, of which it sends forth, principally to Paris, 250,000 pieces a year. 
Mazamet, a town in this gToup, through the enterprise of a single manu- 



52 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

facturer, M. Houles, has risen in half a century from an obscure hamlet 
to a town of 12,000 inhabitants, of which there are 5,000 workmen, while 
there are as many more in the environs. Mazamet has entered into com- 
petition with Elbeuf in articles of novelty; its products, which now 
reach a value of 14,000,000 of francs, have made their Avay into the mar- 
ket of Paris and even of London. 

A pleasing feature in the industry at Mazamet is the establishment of 
special workrooms for workwomen with nursing infants. Ordinarily the 
workwomen are prevented by their confinement in the mills from nurs- 
ing tlieir young children, as the women cannot leave the mill without 
losing their places. They ordinarily relieve themselves from this care by 
intrusting their infants to hired nurses. This is both a j)rivation and an 
expense, the latter being equal to half the wages of the woman. At 
Mazamet a special workroom is provided for mothers with nursing chil- 
dren. The women are employed in very simple work, such as the sort- 
ing of wool or winding yarn upon bobbins, and can continue their labor 
while exercising their maternal duties. All access to this workshop nur- 
sery is prohibited to other workmen. The wages of the women are 
reduced in proi^ortion to their labor, but all things considered, they gain 
greatly by this arrangement. It is refreshing, amidst the indifference 
to the condition of the laborer so i)revalent in Eiu^ope, to see in an indus- 
trial experiment the expression, in this touching form, of a sentiment of 
humanity. 

Within this group there is one establishment quite remarkable for the 
original manner in which it has been sought to combine industrial pros- 
perit}'^ ^ith the social amelioration of the workmen. The establishment 
of Yilleneuvette bears the title of a royal manufacture, it being one of 
those founded by Colbert. Although under private proprietorshij), it is 
exclusively devoted to the fabrication of cloths for the army. It pre- 
serves in many respects the features of a military post. It is siu'mounted 
by battlemented waUs, the drum beats the reveiUe and tattoo, and the 
drawbridge is raised at night. The whole town is under the proprietor- 
ship of the establishment, and residence is permitted to no stranger Avho 
refuses to conform to the usages of the place. The mayor and officers 
of the municipality are workmen, elected by the workmen themselves, 
and there have been but four mayors since the time of the first empire. 
The AYorkmen submit cheerfidly to the military discipline which they 
have imposed themselves. The proprietors pay the best wages in the 
district j they contribute to the schools, at which attendance is com- 
pulsory, and to the common fund for the relief of the sick and aged, 
and provide flour and fuel at cost prices. Games of chance are prohib- 
ited; drunkenness is punivshed by exclusion. There is but a single 
cabaret, which is closed at 9 o'clock. In the course of 30 years there 
has been but one illegitimate birth. The people of this community liave 
invariably kept aloof from i^olitical agitations ; and Avhen, in revolution- 
ary times, bands of workmen of the surrounding country have scorned it 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 53 

in arms, the workmen of Yilleneuvette liave excluded access by raising 
their drawbridge and manning their ramparts. 

The average wages for labor in this group are less even than in the 
districts of Elbeuf and Sedan. The average day's wages are stated to 
be, for men, 2 francs 25 centimes, (45 cents ;) for women, 1 franc 25 cen- 
times, (25 cents;) and for children, 50 centimes, (10 cents.) This Avoidd 
give to a family of a man and wife A\4thtwo children, all at work, 1,350 
francs ($270) per year. It is estimated that the food per head costs, for 
a man, 75 centimes, (15 cents ;) for a woman, 65 centimes, (13 cents 5) and 
for a child, 50 centimes, (10 cents.) This for a family, as above, would be 
an expense of about 900 francs, ($180.) To this is to be added lodging, 
100 francs, ($20;) clothing and other necessary expenses, 250 francs, ($50,) 
making a total expense of 1,250 francs, ($250;) and leaving a nominal 
surplus of 100 francs, ($20.) These receipts are possible only when all 
the family are at work. Thus, under the most favorable circumstances 
and without accident or sickness, all that a family of four persons can 
hope to secure for saving or luxuries is $20 a year. 

RHEDHS. 

We come now to the great centres of the combing- wool industrj^ of 
France, far surj)assing in importance that of card wool, already i)assed in 
review. To the agricultiuist and the manufacturer, the city of Eheims — the 
most ancient seat of the Eoman Catholic faith and of some of its most 
splendid monuments of architecture — is more iuteresting as the seat of a 
complete revolution in a great branch of textile industry, effected through 
the introduction of an imx)roved race of ovine animals. The fabrics of 
combed wool, for which Eheims Avas so celebrated in ages past, the says, 
serges, and tanimins have wholly disai)i)eared since the Spanish blood 
has been introduced into the sheepfolds of Champagne. 

In 1801 an obscure workman of this city, named Dauphinot Palloteau, 
first made from the soft and long wool of the Eambouillet sheep the most 
unrivalled of modern woollen textures — the French merino — Avhich, from 
its softness and solidity, must always hold its place independently of the 
caprices of fashion. The manufacture was extended through the influ- 
ence of the Baron Ternaux, the most celebrated of all the manufac- 
turers of France of his time, who founded at Eheims one of his many 
manufactories. 

This fabrication of merinos constitutes at present tlie most important 
part of industry at Eheims, no cotton- wari> fabrics being made, as at 
Eoubaix. In 1786 the product of stuffs in this city was 91,615 pieces, of 
a value of 11,000,000 francs, employing 30,000 workmen and 12,000 looms. 

In 1863 the value of fabrics produced was 80,000,000 francs. The 
number of hand looms employed was 19,000, occupying 38,000 workmen, 
and the number of power looms 1,300, occupying 900 Avorkmen. For 
combing the wool there were 340 machines; for carding, 350 sets of 
machines, employing 5,000 workmen ; and for spinning, 170,000 spindles, 



54 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

with 2,400 workmen. The nmuber of workmen in full activity was 
55,000. The 30,000 workmen in 178G produced a vahie of 377 francs per 
head. The 55,000 workmen in 1803 i)rodnced a vakie of 1,454 francs 
X)er head. » 

The most important change in the manii)nlation of this industry has 
been in the combing of wool. This was formerly effected by handicraft 
workmen, employed at their own homes. No labor in the woollen 
industry was so poorly paid, and the misery of the hand combers was 
proverbial. Their irregular wages did not exceed IJ franc (30 cents) 
per day. Still the strife between the first imperfect machines and the 
hand combers was long and severe. The latter did not succumb until 
their wages were reduced to 80 centimes (16 cents) per day. Longer 
resistance was vain ; the best workman could comb only 350 kilogTams 
of wool per year, and a machine combs 20,000 kilograms. Of 10,000 
hand combers at Eheims not one remains. For thirty years the genius 
of inventors has been applied to the perfection of combing machines. 
More than twenty inventions have added imi^rovements in details. At 
Eheims there are at present in use three principal processes, that of 
Lister, of Heilman, and of Hubner; each of analogous merit, and each 
having its partisans. M. Holden has become the proprietor of all the 
principal processes or patent-rights, in addition to his own, holding 45 
patents ; 17 of his own and 18 by assignment. He thus nearly controls 
the combing of wool in France. He has put in operation three combiag 
establishments at Eheims, St. Denis, and at Croix, near Eoubaix. He is 
able to comb 16,000 kilograms a day. He employs 1,300 workmen, 
engines of 1,000-horse power, and 80 combing machines. There are no 
other establishments in Europe having these x)roportions, and so weU 
able to resist competition. 

For many years it was deemed imj)ossible to weave merinos advan- 
tageously by power looms. Mechanical Avea^dng is now accomi^ILshed 
with a perfection which leaves nothing to desire. A hand weaver can 
make 24 throws of the shuttle a dayj the weaver on the x^o^^r loom 
makes from 50 to 55 throws, and can easily tend two looms, so that his 
X)roduct is foin* times as much as the hand weaver's. There is, besides, 
more regiilarity in the i)roduct and less loss of material. The power 
loom is worked mthout muscular effort, hardly anything more being 
required than a little dexterity in mending the broken yarns. Women 
can do this work better than men, and in many establishments at Eheims 
women are exclusively emj)loyed under overseers. The superior advan- 
tages of the power loom open a sad i^rospect to the hand weavers of 
Eheims, of whom there are 38,000 ; and the means of averting the suf- 
fering from this class of workmen, in the ineMtable change which must 
take place in the procedure of weaving, is a subject of most anxious 
consideration to the benevolent men of Eheims. 

The precarious condition of so large a class of the workmen, and the 
gradual diminution of their wages, create a discontent which is ominous 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 55 

of public calamities. The incendiaries of 1848 inflamed the workmen 
to such an extent, they destroyed the first establishment provided with 
power looms, and they look mth an evil eye upon every one who 
introduces the new machines. It is admitted by the authorities of 
Rheims that an en\dous hatred of the rich prevails always among these 
workmen, and if they are tranquil at present, it is because they are "kept 
down by a strong government." 

The manufactui'ers of Eheims regard the United States as the most 
important outlet for their goods. Oiu* late war seriously affected their 
trade. They speak of the American crisis as having weighed so heavily 
upon it that the influence of the Anglo-French treaty upon commercial 
transactions was of comparatively little moment. The value of this 
trade is a sufficient inducement for us to transfer to oiu^ omti shores the 
industry of fabricating merinos, which is dominant . at Rheims. It can 
be adopted here with aU its recent perfections, and without any of the 
drawbacks which weigh so hea^dly upon it in France. It is fitted for 
the skiUed female labor akeady developed in our wooUen mills. It wiU 
be favored by the character of the wools most advantageously grown 
here, and will greatly increase the production of sheep husbandry by 
creating an entkely new demand, and will introduce into more general 
use the softest and most beautiful of all fabrics for female use. 

The effects of the struggle between the old and new system of manu- 
facture is seen in the low average rate of wages in this city. The work- 
men emjiloyed upon power machines are comparatively well i^aid. The 
men spinning combed wool are paid from 3 francs 50 centimes (70 cents) 
to 4 francs (80 cents) ]3er day, and the women from 1 franc 40 centimes 
(28 cents) to 1 franc 70 centimes, (34 cents.) The power-loom weavers 
earn from 2 francs 25 centimes (45 cents) to 3 francs (00 cents) per day, 
but the hand weavers, Avho comi)ose the greater i>art of the working 
population, are reduced to wages which average only, for a man, 1 franc 
50 centimes (30 cents) a day, for a woman 1 franc, (20 cents,) and for two 
children 75 centimes, (15 cents,) a total of 1,200 francs ($240) a year, for a 
family of four persons. The estimated expenses for the absolute neces- 
sities of living are 1,188 francs, ($237 60,) leaving a surplus above bare 
necessities of only 12 francs, or a little over two dollars. It is hardly 
necessary to say that this surplus is scarcely ever attained, and that 
poverty, debt, and moral degradation are the normal conditions of this 
industrial j)opulation. 

CATEAU, 

in the region of the north, furnishes an example of what may be done 
in the industry of merinos by adapting on a large scale the most recent 
processes, and making use of a raw material supplied from domestic 
sources. In 1818, M. Paturle selected the locality of the small town of 
Cateau, having a stream of water, affording a moderate hydi'aulic power 
and a laborious and intelligent population, akeady skilled in the 



5G PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITIOI^. 

domestic manipulation of wool, as a site for the development of the idea 
of deriving the greatest possible benefit from the soft wool of the Si)an- 
ish race, then commencing to abound in that region. He conceived that 
the utmost development of Avhich the fibre of the new race was susceptible 
was in the fabrication of merinos, recently introduced at Eheims. From 
this idea there sprung up in the hands of MM. Paturle & Lupin, and 
of their successors, the most extensive manufactory of merinos in France, 
and the one which would serve best for a model in this country. The 
original machinery comx^rised only some instruments for combing and 
spinning, the weaving being operated on the hand-looms of the adjoin- 
ing country. In the course of 30 years the machinery has been entii'ely 
renewed. The old water-wheels have made way for steam engines of 
250 horse power, moving GO combers, 40,000 spindles, and GOO power- 
looms. 2,000 AA orkmen are employed directly in the mill, and the hand- 
weavers of the country fiu-nish 4,000 auxiliaries, making a total of G,000 
workmen. The freight transported to and from the establishment amounts 
to 5,000 tons, and the value of the production is from 18 to 20 million 
francs, three-quarters of which is exported to all quarters of the world. 
The proprietors have earned their splendid prosperity by being faithful 
to the fabric first adopted. They have attained the utmost perfection 
in processes of manufacture by the employment of machines whose 
serviceableness had been verified, and haA^e made their goods salable 
by a moderation of price without the sacrifice of quality. The Bradford 
delegates who Aisited Cateau, at the time of the Exposition, were '' struck 
with astonishment at the cleanliness, order, and regularity of the Aast 
establishment." Admirable schools are proAided for childi-en and 
adults attached to the works, and a public laundry and baths. The 
widow of the founder of the works has constructed and endowed a hos- 
pital i)ro Aided AAith twenty beds for invalid workmen, as a monument 
for her husband. These foundations show that the generous sentiments 
of the proprietors haA^e been among the elements of their prosperity. 
The best workmen earn at this establishment, where their condition is 
probably more favorable than anywhere else in France, from 3 francs 50 
centimes (70 cents) to 4 francs (80 cents) per day, and the women at the 
poAver-looms from 1 franc 60 centimes (32 cents) to 2 francs, (40 cents.) 
It is estimated that with strict economy the head of a family can save 
from GO to 150 francs, but, as has been said Avith regard to all such 
calculations, " Ave must distinguish that which is possible from that 
which is." 

There are many other important centres and special localities of this 
industry Avhich nught be studied Avith profit, as that of the fabrication of 
merino shaAvls, or imitations of the Cashmere, distributed in the agri- 
cultural villages of the north in the arrondissements of Cambrai and 
Avesnes, and conducted under the direction of large houses in Paris ; 
the spinning establishmentsofFournies, where a mere hamlet has groAvn 
into a toAvn of 4,000 inhabitants, employing 30,000 spindles, through the 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 57 

co-operative association of workmen, the most signal example of the 
success of co-oi)erative industry in France; the characteristic manu- 
factiu^es of Amiens, which produce annually more than 20,000,000 francs 
in value of the various fabrics from the hair of the Angora goat; but 
the space allotted in this paper for the manufactures of France must be 
reserved for the most important centre of the combing wool industry. 

ROUBAIX. 

Of all the manufacturing towns in France there is no one which in 
actlA^ty, enteriDrise, and rapidity of growth, comi^ares mth Eoubaix, 
the " Bradford" of the empire. Situated ui^on the borders of French 
Flanders, its industry is a direct inheritance from the Flemish artisans, 
who in the middle ages were masters of the woollen industrj^ of the 
world, and who supplied what Fuller calls that ''treasury of foreigners" 
who enriched England by the introduction of the Flemish arts. A mere 
rural hamlet of two hundred families in 1469, overshadowed by the pow- 
erful town of Lisle, it was authorized by i)atent from Charles, Duke of 
Burgundy, to fabricate a limited class of woollen stuffs. Its i:>owerful 
neighbor. Lisle, disputed this right, which was finally confirmed by the 
Emi)eror. Still, for three centuries an industrial war was carried on 
between the rival towns, which contributed greatly to the hardihood 
and enteri)rise of the \ictor, which Eoubaix has finally become. The 
treaty of Aix-la-Chai^elle in 1668, which united Flanders to France, by 
opening a larger market, gave a broader field to Flemish activity. The 
production of stuffs at Eoubaix, which in 1612 was about 3,000 i^ieces, 
regularly increased until 1771, when the production was 38,000 pieces, 
occupying 40,500 laborers of both sexes, and representing a value of 
2,987,500 francs. In 1786 the manufactures of Eoubaix were sufficiently 
important to induce her to take the lead in resisting the consequences 
of the disastrous treaty of the Marquis de Yergennes, which admitted 
English goods into the French markets at nommal duties. All its in- 
habitants, men, women, and children, signed an act by which they bound 
themselves to wear nothing but the stuffs of France. This movement 
was followed in all the i^rovinces, and the engagement was kept 
until the i^olicy of 1786 was repealed and protection restored. True 
to her traditions, Eoubaix, of all the cities of France, is most earnest in 
denunciation of the relaxation of the i^rotective policy through the recent 
treaty with England. Within the present year, as appears by the 
Joiu^nal des Economistes, the consultative chambers of arts and manu- 
factures of this and the adjoining city of Tour com g have protested to 
the minister of commerce against the renewal of this treaty, declaring 
that the public fortune of Eoubaix has suffered by the treaty to the 
extent of 200,000,000 of francs. The workmen of Eoubaix have petitioned 
the Emperor to the same effect. The manufacturers of Lisle and Amiens 
have followed this movement, which is supported by the Moniteur In- 
dustrial of January 9, 1868, as foUows: ''15,000,000,000 this Anglo- 



58 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

Frencli alliance lias cost us. Counting tlie results of the Belgium treaty, 
and of tliat Avhicli we have concluded Avitli tlie Zollverein, and we liave 
a total of 20,000,000. The treaties of commerce, the grand economical 
reform, the works which render illustrious the second half of the 19th 
century, have carried 20,000,000 to the debtor side of our national balance 
sheet." 

The ancient device upon the municii^al coat of arms of Eoubaix 
embodies in two words the secret of all prosperity in manufactures as 
well as in common life, Industrie et Probite. Among the masters in textile 
industry in former times, a faithful fabrication of their stuffs was a point 
of honor as cherished as bravery in knights and Airtue in women. 
The fabricants of Eoubaix resisted the license in the fabrication of 
stuffs which was permitted after the revolution. They insisted that the 
ancient mimicipal regidations established to prevent frauds in manufac- 
ture should be preserved, and for forty years, through theu* chamber of 
commerce and council of Prudhommes, demanded of the government the 
restoration of the ancient restrictive regulations. 

ISTo city has derived a greater advantage fi'om the freedom which it 
so earnestly resisted. For the last half century, the industiial life at 
Eoubaix has been only one series of enterprises and happy experiments. 
Its dominant idea has been to adapt fabrics of luxury to popular consump- 
tion by combining the best taste and highest excellence with the lowest 
possible price. With this idea it has continually varied its materials and 
styles, combining wool with cotton, with silk, with mohair and llax, but 
in all the economies of production i^reserving a grace of decoration and 
sobriety and harmony of colors which takes from cheapness all its vul- 
garity. The Anglo-French treaty has comi^elled Eoubaix to enter into 
direct competition with Bradford in the production of the light and fra- 
gile mixtures of wool or goats' hair with cotton warp, such as the bareges, 
the coburgs and mohairs, which have given such an immense develop- 
ment to the English worsted industry j but it appears, from the recent 
statements of its manufacturers, that its superior taste and invention 
have not enabled it to retain the control of the domestic market in con- 
flict with the more powerfid capital of England. The gTcat establish- 
ments sustain comparison with their English rivals, whose methods, 
dimensions and machines they have adopted. The rapidity with which 
the town has advanced is without parallel in France. From a popula- 
tion of 5,000 souls in 178G, it has gone progressively to 10,000 in 1806, 
15,000 m 1830, 25,000 in 1810, until it reached 55,000 in 18G1, while its pro- 
duction of fabrics has risen from 3,000 to over 100,000 pieces, and 
the annual value of its manufactiues has been increased from 3,000,000 
or 4,000,000 to about 200,000,000 francs. This rapid growth is rivalled 
in Eiu'ope only at Bradford, which has been built up hj a similar 
industry. It is remarkable that this marvellous prosperity is due in no 
respect to any advantages of nature or location. Eoubaix had no water 
power, its natural streams being insufficient to supply the bleacheries ; 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 59 

and even in 1824, its only approacli to Lisle was by a road impracticable 
in winter ; the original sonrce of its power was its native poi)ulation, 
wliicli bad inherited the sldll, arts, and enterprise of its Fleniish ancies- 
try. The ultimate source of this prosi^erity has been the happy idea 
of applying the native skill and taste, aided by the modern powers of 
steam and machinery, to fiu^nishing in the cheapest and most attractive 
form the light fabrics for the largest and most important class of con- 
sumers, the women and children, and in satisfying the fickleness of 
female taste by constant variations of textiu'es, styles and colors. The 
secret of the profitableness of this manufacture is, that the utmost amount 
of mere machine labor is given to the smallest possible amount of raw 
material. Sales and estimates of tariff duties in card- wool fabrics are 
made in a great measure by weight, having reference to the quantity of 
raw material. In combing- wool fabrics they are made by the yard. It 
is estimated that a single hoggett fleece from a Lincoln sheep weighing 
20 pounds of a length of staple of 17 inches, such as has been some- 
times exhibited in England, when used in manufacture to its utmost 
extent, with cotton, to fabricate the finest alpaca fabrics would suffice 
to make 16 pieces, or 072 yards, enough for 56 dresses. The same amount 
of wool made into cloth would not make suits for six men. 

M. Benoville states that a careful calculation made at Eoubaix in 1843 
showed that there were consumed at that place in the manufacture of 
the class of fabrics in question, 4,536,168 kilograms of wool, of the value 
of 17,000,000 francs, averaging 3 francs 74 centimes the kilogram. There 
were consiuned, besides, 1,225,000 francs in value of silk and cotton, 
making the total raw material consumed 18,285,000 francs. The total 
production of fabrics of this district was valued at 63,000,000 francs. 
The goods put in consumi)tion, then, had a value three and a quarter 
times more than that of the raw materials consumed ; that is, 3 francs 74 
centimes for the raw wool, &c., and 9 francs 35 centimes for the manip- 
ulation, cost of capital, and profit. 

But it is unnecessary to speculate upon the reasons of the remarkable 
development during the last half century of the class of manufactures 
under consideration. Eoubaix and Bradford are in themselves enough 
to demonstrate that the combing wool industry, Avhich, comparatively 
speaking, we have hardly touched, is for this country the most encour- 
aging field for labor in the whole range of the textile industry. 

It remains, pursuing the course adopted with regard to the other great 
centres, to consider the condition of the industrial population at Eoubaix* 

The average wages per day actually received, deducting the time actu- 
ally lost, are stated as follows by the statistical authorities : 

Combers of wool : men, 2 francs 60 centimes, (52 cents;) women, 1 
franc 80 centimes, (36 cents.) Si^inners : men, 2 francs 60 centimes, (52 
cents ;) women, 1 franc 80 centimes. Weavers : jacquard, 2 francs 25 
centimes, (45 cents ;) power loom, 2 francs 25 centimes,. Dyers : 2 francs 
60 centimes, (52 cents.) 



60 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

It is estimated that the strict expenses for a household of five persons, 
the father and mother only receiving wages, are 2 francs 70 centimes (54 
cents) per day ; being 40 centimes (8 cents) for lodging, 1 franc 10 cen- 
times (22 cents) for bread, 75 centimes (15 cents) for other aliments, and 
45 centimes (9 cents) for washing, fire and light. In this calcidation 
meat is not included, it being only occasionally used by the workmen. 
The total cost for the above items per year is between 986 and 1,000 
francs. Estimating that the cost of supporting the family falls upon the 
father and mother, on the average conditions, their united wages are 
from 1,150 francs to 1,250 francs a year, being an excess above exi^ense 
in the first case of 150 francs, and in the second of 250 francs. But in 
the above calculation neither clothing nor furniture are included, and 
absence from animal food is a condition of the estimate. Where family 
life must necessarily be so hard and austere, and having scarcely any 
enjoyment except that derived from performance of duty, we are not sur- 
prised to find among the statistics of a city provided even with schools 
and religious institutions, that in the year 1863, of a i^opidation of 54,000 
there were but 487 marriages, and that there were 283 illegitimate births, 
of which 265 were not acknowledged. 

It is due to the French social writers and statisticians to say that the 
facts illustrative of the condition of the laborers are stated without any 
attempt to justify them on the one hand, or to exaggerate them on the 
other. It woidd appear that the evils of the European rule of the com- 
pensation of labor are so vast and so entwined mth the existing social 
and political system, that it is vain to attemj)t to grapple with them. 
'"'- The question of wages," says one writer, '-'- is one of the most important 
questions of our epoch, and perhaps the most difficult to resolve ; we 
shall not attempt to discuss it." Another writer says : " Before long this 
question of wages will occupy a more important part than it has done 
before in the respective accounts and means of defence of the various 
industries." It is hoped that for this country, at least, the question of 
wages is solved by adopting the system of protection, not of manufac- 
tures, but of labor, '-'- as the means of defence of our various Industries." 

OTHER EUROPEAN NATIONS. 

BELGIUM, GERMANY AND AUSTRIA. 

The other principal centres of the woollen industry upon the continent 
of Europe can be passed in review but briefly. In Belgium, the princi- 
pal seat of the card- wool industry is at Ver\'iers. This city, a century 
ago a town of 5,000 souls, has acquired through its woollen manufac- 
tures a population of 28,000, and with that of its suburbs of 40,000. In 
1797 its production amounted to the value of three or four millions of 
francs. In 1864 the production was valued at 70,000,000 francs, its 
annual increase being at the rate of 10,000 pieces a year. The reputa- 
tion of some of its manufacturers is nowhere sm-passed, as of M. Sim- 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 61 

mollis, whose name stands first among tlie individuals who were honored 
hy medals in the class of card-A\ ool fabrics at the Paris Exposition. Bel- 
gium manufactures ]3riiicipally for foreign consumiition, and the United 
States is one of its largest outlets. It is able to surmount the barriers 
of oiu" duties, by reducing the wages of its workmen. The day\s pay of 
many weavers does not exceed 1 franc 50 centimes, (30 cents,) and 
women do not earn more than from 80 centimes (IG cents) to 1 franc, (20 
cents.) The average wages at Yerviers is 2 francs (40 cents) for twelve 
hours' work. By means of this cheap labor, stuffs of wool mixed with 
cotton are produced Avhich cost only from 1 franc (20 cents) to 1 franc 55 
centimes (31 cents) the metre. The wear and dye are in proportion to 
the price. The low wages in Belgium are looked ui)on Avith no little 
alarm by England, and especially by the iron manufacturers. 

The woollen manufactiue of the Zollverein, that is, Germany without 
Austria, according to the most recent statements, emi^loys 850,000 spin- 
dles, and i)roduces tissues of a value of more than 400,000,000 of francs, 
of which 50,000,000 are exported. The cloths, especially the fine broad- 
cloths and doeskins, are largely exported to this country. Comi)etition 
with England and the surmounting of our duties are rendered easy by 
still lower wages than prevail in Belgium. The average jnice for a day's 
work for weaA^ers in the country does not exceed 1 franc 25 centimes, (25 
cents,) and for toAvns 1 franc 75 centimes, (35 cents.) Women are paid 
one-third less. 

The following facts as to the production and Avages at Aix-la-Chapelle, 
one of the most important centres of the card-Avool industry, Avere 
obtained from Mr. Yesey, United States consul at that city, by Mr. E. 
W. Eobinson: 

"Annual i^roduction, 150,000 pieces, of 25 yards to the piece. 

'^Raw wool principally iirocured from Berlia, Breslau, London, and 
AntAverp, in the raAV state, 7,500,000 pounds ; average cost from 40 to 
110 thalers, Prussia, the 110 pounds EiigUsh — say 27 cents to 70 cents per 
l)ound, gold. 

" Wages — 10,000 tvorlcmen. 

"Men earn from 3 to 5 thalers per Aveek, $2 25 to $3 75. 

"Women earn from 1^ to 3 thalers per AA^eek, $1 to $2 25. 

"Children earn from § to IJ thaler per week, 50 cents to $1 12 J." 

Austria works up annually 77,000,000 x^ounds of wool into tissues which 
represent a value of $50,000,000. The town of Brunn, in the heart of 
the pastoral i)roA ince of Moravia, is one a ast cloth factory, liaAing at 
command an excellent situation at the confluence of two riA ers and upon 
two lines of railroad, and also employing the best processes and machines. 
Its really admirable goods have been largely introduced into the United 
States, the introduction haAong been aided by a system of iuA^oices in 
fraud of our tariff", hardly equalled in unscrupulousness elsewhere. The 
prices of sound cloths are the lowest in Europe, and the average Avages 
do not exceed 1 fi^anc 25 centimes (25 cents) a day. 



62 PAKIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

GREAT BRITAIN. 

It is tlirougli lier wool tliat England has risen to tlie first place in the 
world in the textile industry. Her soil and climate favored the cnltnre 
of sheep possessing qualities found in no other race or country. The 
prevailing national sentiment, as exx)ressed in the words of one of its old 
writers, is that "wool is the flower and strength, the revenue and the 
blood of England." Its exclusive possession was seciued by laws for- 
bidtling its exportation, and the acquisition of auxiliary wools from 
abroad was secured by their admission at small or merely nominal 
imposts. The woollen manufactiu^ers having acquii-ed the highest arts 
of the Low Countries and France, from the refugees whom the persecu- 
tions of the Duke of Alva and the revocation of the edict of ^NTantes had 
driven to the English shores, were ''fondled, favored, and cherished," 
to use the words of Mr. Huskisson, by a persistency of national protec- 
tion without parallel in the history of industry. The woollen industry 
was first planted in the eastern and western counties. In the 18th 
century it changed its seat to the counties of the north, where coal 
abounded for propelling machinery, and the neighborhood of large flocks 
of sheei) gave the choice of fleeces, and in the AVest Elding of the county 
of York it has been developed into gigantic proportions. The most 
remarkable woollen establishments of the world are concentrated in this 
district, but distributed in foiu* x^rincipal towns, each of which, by a law 
which seems universal, has devoted itself to a special industry. Leeds, 
to heavy drapery J Huddersfield, to light drapery j Halifax, to cari)ets 5 and 
Bradford, to thin and brilliant worsted stufl's. The eftect of a succesfid 
woollen industry ui^on popidation is'remarkably illustrated in this dis- 
trict. In the West Kiding, where there was a population of only 593,000 
inhabitants in 1801, it had risen in 1811 to 1,151,000, and in 1807 to 
1,375,000. In 1811 it had increased at Halifax from 63,000 to 130,000 ; 
at Huddersfield from 14,000 to 38,000 -, and at Leeds from 53,000 to 
152,000. The increase of population is still more remarkable at Brad- 
ford, the gTcat seat of the worsted industry. At the commencement of 
the century, when all the wool Avas si)un and woven in the houses of the 
workmen, this town had a i^opulation of only 13,000 souls j in 1821 it had 
doubled the number of its inhabitants, which then reached 20,000. By 
the introduction of power-looms in 1825, the use of cotton warx)s with 
yarns of wool in 1834, and the emi)loyment of the hair of the alpaca and 
Angora goat, first used in 183G, the manufacturing industry was so 
developed tliat it sustained, in 1851, a i^opulation of 103,000, and of 
115,000 in 18G4, an increase of over 100,000 in half a century. In singu- 
lar contrast with the infinite variety wliich Yorkshire now i)roduc"es, and 
its industry, Avliicli occupies upon a district of 50 scpuire miles 750,000 
spindles and 35,000 power-looms, distributed in 932 establishments, 
empk>ying 75,000 workmen, is the picture left by an ancient statute of 
the condition of the wooUen industry in the city of York, in the time of 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 63 

Henry YIII. During tlie reign of tliis monarch an act was passed in 
favor of the city of York, reciting and declaring '^ that the poor of that 
city were daily employed in spinning, dyeing, carding, wea\ing, &c., for 
the making of coverlets, and that the same have not been made in the 
same county till of late; that this manufacture has spread into other parts 
of the country, and was thereby debased and discredited ; and therefore 
it is enacted that none shall make coverlets but the people of York." 
We see this wretched handicraft now expanded into the most magnifi- 
cent manufactm^e to be found in the woollen industry of the world. 

Although the West Eiding of Yorkshire is the most important seat of 
the woollen industry in England, it is by no means confined to this dis- 
trict. Other centres are marked by the same singular devotion to par- 
ticular branches observed in Yorkshire. While heavy pilot cloths, &c., for 
overcoats, are produced i>rincipally at Leeds, pantaloon stuifs and vestings 
at Huddersfield, blankets at Dewsbury, carpets and damasks for fui*niture 
at Halifax, all in Yorkshire ; tweeds, tartans, shawls, &c., are made i)rin- 
cipally at Galashiels and Hawick; imitation cashmere shaAvls, at Paisley; 
flannels, in Wales, and at Eochdale ; heavy goods, such as blankets and 
rugging, horse-cloths, &c., in Oxfordshire, and at Witney, Chipping 
Korton, and Kendal, in Westmoreland ; hosiery, at Il^ottingham, and silk 
and wool i)oplins at iN^orwich ; each of these points being recognized as 
the headquarters of the branches of production above enumerated. 

We find a singular deficiency of recent statistics respecting the woollen 
industry of Great Britain, iiroceeding from the characteristic reticence 
of its manufacturers. This is observable in the proceedings of the Cham- 
ber of Commerce of Bradford, Avhere we might expect to find detailed 
information. The most recent statements are those given by Mr. 
Symonds, in 1861. From them it appears that the total value at that 
period of the wooUen manufacture of the kingdom, separate from the 
Avorsted manufacture, Avas £20,290,079, comi)osed of the following items 
76,000,000 i)ounds of foreign and colonial avooI, A^alued at £4,717,492 
80,000,000 pounds of British aa^ooI, at 1^. 3d. per pound, £5,000,000 
30,000,000 pounds of shoddy, at 2^d. per pound, and 15,000,000 pounds 
of mimgo, at 4J^. per pound, together £009,370 ; cotton and other warps, 
used in the union and mixed cloths, £206,537 ; dye-stufi's, oil, and soap, 
£1,500,000 ; Avages, £150,000 ; Avork people, at 12s. M. per Aveek, £4,875,000 ; 
rent, wear and tear of machinery, repairs, coal, interest on capital and 
profit, 20 per cent, on aboA^e, £3,381,680. According to the same author- 
ity, the worsted manufiicture consumes 80,000,000 i^ounds of British 
wool, and 15,000,000 pounds of foreign and colonial wool, and employs 
125,000 hands. The Avhole number of operatiA^es engaged on aa^ooI is 
275,000. The total number of persons, directly dependent upon the avooI- 
len industry, is set doAni at 837,500, including the workmen, there being 
a larger number of dependent workers in auxiliary trades than in con- 
nection with any other manufacture. 

It is not proposed to give the details of the compensation of labor in 



64 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

the woollen industry of Great Britain. English statistical statements of 
the reliable character of those given respecting the French industry are 
wanting. The rates obtained from scattered sources vary so much in 
different estabUshments, locations, and emi^loyments, that facts supplied 
by a few establishments would lead to no correct conclusions. A better 
opinion can be formed from a general view than a microscopic examina- 
tion. M. Eeybaud is of opinion that, throwing aside the exceptional 
cases where the receipts of an English workman and his wife would 
amount to 3,000 or 3,500 francs, the average receipts for the coui)le can- 
not be lixed at less than 1,700 or 1,800 francs, the receipts in Eoubaix in 
corresponding cases being 1,350 francs, and at Amiens 900 francs. The 
average wages in this industry, although materially less than in this 
country, particularly for common hands, and women and children, are 
gTcatly above those in France and other countries on the continent. 
The Chamber of Commerce of Leeds, according to the author last 
referred to, estimates the wages of the workman at 35 francs for the 
articles best paid, and at 22 francs for those which are least paid, 
with intermediate rates. American manufactin'ers admit that it is not 
so much the lower rate of wages in England against which we have 
to contend, as the low rates of interest, which j)ermit the employment 
of vast capital and most the advantageous use of machinery, together 
with the abundance of labor which may always be recruited from the 
vast reserve corps of j)aupers, eager to be elevated to the rank of work- 
men. A marked imi)roA^ement in the material condition of the workmen, 
especially in Yorkshire, has been effected of late years by the increase 
and the lessening of the cost of subsistence. In the West Eiding the 
labor which, in the period from 1845 to 1817, produced 10 shillings per 
per week, will earn at present 16 shillings per Aveek. The food for a 
family which then cost 9s. dd, is now obtained for Qs. In this industry 
at the i^resent day, the Yorkshire workmen are able to consume ani- 
mal food at least twice a day, to be respectably clothed, to have some 
luxuries, and accumulate savings. They are the envy of the workmen of 
the continent. Without stopping to inquire whether this change has 
been brought about by chartist agitation, the trade unions, the self-inter- 
est of emi)loyers, or the moral enlightenment of the English nation, we 
recognize the fact that the material condition of the English Avorkman 
is vastly superior to that of his brother workman in France, Belgium, 
Prussia, and Austria. On the other hand, it is now freely admitted in 
England that the general and technical education of the English opera- 
tive is far inferior to that of the workmen of the nations above-named. 
The Universal Exi)osition at Paris served to open the eyes of England 
to the startling fact that she had been making but little progress in nuui- 
iifacturing and mechanical industry since 1851, compared Avith that made 
in many other Eui-opean countries. Among the responses of eminent 
jurors to a request for information, addressed by the Schools Inquiry 
Commission of July 2, 1807, we find the foll()^^^ng istatements as to the 
inferiority above referred to, and its apparent cause. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 65 

Dr. Plaj^air says: "A singular accordance of opinion prevailed tbat 
our country liad shown little inventiveness, and made little progress in 
the i)eaceful arts of industry since 1802." Professor Tyndal says: "I 
have long entertained the opinion that in virtue of the better education 
provided by the continental nations, England must one day, and that no 
distant one, fiiul herself outstripped by those nations both in the arts of 
peace and war." More pertinently to the immediate subject of this rei)ort, 
Mr. Huth says: "I am sorry to say that, although we may still be unsur- 
passed in many of our productions, we no longer hold that pre-enunence 
that was accorded to us in 1851. The enormous strides that have of late 
been made by our continental rivals in France, Belgium, Prussia, and 
Austria, wiU make it daily more difficult for our woollen manufacturers 
to hold not only their former i^rominent position, but even to maintain 
their i)resent one. I found that it is the want of industrial education in 
this country which prevents our manufacturers from making that pro- 
gress which other nations are making. I found both masters and foremen 
in other countries much more scientitically educated than our own. The 
workmen of other countries have a far suj^erior educ^ation to ours, many 
of whom have none whatever. Their productions show clearly that it is 
not there a machine working a machine, but that brains sit at the loom, 
and intelligence stands at the spinning wheel." 

The references here made to the i^rovisions for scientific and technical 
education ui^on the continent of Europe are worthy of grave considera- 
tion in this country, and the examples cited should stimulate us to extend 
such institutions as already exist here in the schools of the Cooper Insti- 
tute of New York, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The 
cause, however, of the decline of the industrial arts in England, so fuUy 
admitted in the testimony of her own experts, is to be found in a source 
more deeply seated than in a simple deficiency of technical education. 
Schools of art are the result, as Avell as the cause, of a national sentiment 
of excellence, and such a sentiment cannot be predominant in a nation 
where the ruling idea of its system of manufacture is production at the 
cheapest possible rate for the utmost possible consumi:>tion . A constantly 
declining standard of excellence is inse})arable from this idea. The fruits 
are seen in the shoddy cloths, the fragile railroad iron, and the hardware, 
to which no more opprobrious term can be aj^plied than that derived from 
its chief seat of fabrication — the trashy fabrics and wares inundating every 
country which does not protect itself by domestic production and defen- 
sive duties. It is to the commerce Avhich this system of manufacture 
nourishes that the famous line of Goldsmith is so justly applicable — 

"And honor sinks where commerce long- prevails." 

The French economists deplore the influence of this idea, Avhich has 
crept into France, in consequence of the Anglo-French treaty, and they 
assert that it has exerted a baleful influence upon French artists who 
have sojourned a long time in England. ''They lose their manner," it is 
said 5 "their imagination is subdued j it is a flame which becomes extin- 
5 w 



66 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

gTiisbed by tlie positive and cold spirit of the Englisli." Tlie woollen 
manufacturers of this country in i)r()ducing, as they have done formerly, 
chiefly for the masses, have followed too much the present English 
systeiu, instead of aiming at the standard of the old English masters of 
the woollen industry, and of their descendants in the western counties, 
Avho produce for the home markets, or the still higher standard which we 
have seen prevailing in France. The system which may be profitable for 
a foreign trade cannot be permanently remunerative for domestic con- 
sumption. In fabricating for the home markets the delinquencies of the 
I)roducer are like i^ersonal " sins," which, in the words of the homely 
proverb, "always come home to roost." The false economy of making 
poor, or, more i3roperly speaking, dishonest fabrics, is sure to be at length 
demonstrated by reclamations of buyers, by accumulating stocks, and, 
finally, by bankrupt establishments. 

Oiu' manufacturers, in producing even for the masses, should consider 
how rapidly the masses in this country are imi^roving in taste and in 
appreciation of what is really good, and that American consumers mil no 
more be satisfied with ordinary fabrics than American mechanics with 
cheap tools. Let the ancient device of Roubaix, '^ Industrie et iwohite^^'' be 
the ride also of American manufacturers j let the surprising advance of 
our woollen industry in the last five years be the earnest of its future 
progress, and the excellence and variety of its products will excite in the 
l)eoi)le a symi^athy in our struggles and a national i)ride in our achieve- 
ments. By our own faithfid work we shall secure the final condition of 
success — a positive public sentiment which shall pervade the country in 
favor of the i^roducts of its own soil and labor. 

E. E. MUDGE, 
United States Commissioner to the Paris Exposition of 1867. 



( 



APPENDIX A. 

AMERICAN MERINOS. 

Prepared hy request, for this report, hy Hon, Henry 8. Rundall, LL. i>., 
President of National Wool Growers' Assoeiatlon} 

Full-blood American merino sheep, as that designation is now under- 
stood, include only full-blood descendants of the merinos imported from 
Spain into the United States near the beginning of the i)resent centiu-y. 
Six were introduced by different persons between 1793 and 1802. In the 
last named j^ear, Mr. Livingston, the American Minister in France, sent 
home two pairs obtained from the French government flock. Later in 
1802, Colonel Humphreys, the American Minister in Si)ain, on his return 
from his embassy, shipped a flock to the United States, of which 21 rams 
and 70 ewes safely reached his farm in Connecticut. The merinos 
imi)orted i>rior to these last haA e not, so far as is known, left any full- 
blood descendants. 

Col. Humphreys published no detailed account of his pirrchase or of 
the previous history of his sheep. He evidently regarded the fact that 
he purchased them, and that he obtained them directly from the merinos 
of Spain, as all that was important to be known, and as a suflicient guar- 
antee of their blood and quality, and so indeed it was. He was a singu- 
larly high-toned and i^ublic- spirited man — wealthy — intent on doing a 
l^atriotic service to his country by introducing these sheep ; and that he 
fully supi)osed that he had accomplished the latter object he himself 
bears witness. In his poem ''On the industry of the United States of 
America," he i)roudly declares : 

"Not guarded Colchis gave admiring Greece 
So rich a treasure in its golden fleece." 

The particular Spanish family or families from which his sheep were 
selected cannot now be regarded as a matter of any consequence ; but 
from investigations Avhich circumstances formerly impelled me to make 
among all the accessible i)ublic and i^rivate records and facts appertain- 
ing to the subject, I (?ame to the undoubting conclusion that they were 
drawn from a single family, and that the Infantado. 

Judging from the statements in Colonel Humphrey's manuscript letters 
lying before me, he not only found great satisfaction but great success 
in breeding his merinos. The very ones he brought from Spain, he says, 
increased half a pound in their fleeces ; and their descendants continued 
to improve in that and every other i^articular. He speaks glowingly of 
their hardiness and proi)ensity to fatten ; and in the highest terms of 
their mutton. This gentleman died in 1818, when causes, hereafter to be 

1 Author of Sheep Husbandry in the South, Fine Wool Husbandry, The Practical Shep- 
herd, &C., &LC. 



68 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

detaikHl, had sunk the merinos into contempt and neglect. His invahia- 
ble sheep were then scattered, and, as a general thing, they appear to 
have fallen into the hands of those who attached no gieat value to their 
blood, for 1 can learn of but two or three instances where they were i)re- 
served distinct after 1826. 

The next importations of importance were made by Mr. William Jar- 
vis, American consul at Lisbon, Portugal, in 1809 and 1810. Taking 
advantage of the offers of the Spanish Junto to sell the confiscated flo(;ks 
of certain Spanish nobles, he bought and sliipped to different ports in 
the United States about three thousand eight hundred and fifty merinos. 
He wrote to me, in 1811, that about thirteen hundred of these were 
Aqueirres, two hundred Montarcos, the rest Paulars and Xegrettis — 
mostly the former. He says : ^' Those I reserved for myself were com- 
posed of about half Paulars, a quarter Aqueirres, and the other fourth 
of Escurials, Xegrettis and Montarcos, which I subsequently mixed 
together." 

In regard to other importations at this period, Mr. Jarvis writes in 
the same letter : " There were sent in the latter year (1810) by others 
about two thousand five hundred, composed of Paulars — had of General 
Downie — Montarcos, Aqueirres and Guadalui^es. Part of those went to 
I^ew York, i^art to Boston. All those sheep were Leonesa, trans-human- 
tes, and w ere of the i)rime flocks of Spain. I have been able to be thus 
miiuite in relation to the merinos in 1809 and 1810, as I was then Amer- 
ican consul at Lisbon, which Avas the port from which they Avere all 
shii)i)ed, it being only about one hundred miles to Badajos, and the near- 
est seaport to that place." Some of these cargoes did not reach the 
United States until 1811. I have elsewhere given the names of a nimi- 
ber of the importers, and it is not necessary to repeat them here. 

The circumstances existing at the time of the introduction of these 
sheep Avere highly propitious to their carefid breeding and rapid diffu- 
sion. Prom 1807 to 1812 the maritime regulations of England and 
France, and our OAvn retaliatory ones, paralyzed, and during a portion 
of the time entirely suspended, our foreign trade ; and the ensuing Avar 
with England, Avhich lasted to 1815, completely SAvept our commerce from 
the ocean. Thus our people Avere driAen to the establishment of avooI 
and other manufactiu'es, and to the production of the raw materials. 
State legislatures, the public press, and politicians of ca ery part}^ and 
grade, encoirraged efforts in that direction, and patriotic as well as pecu- 
niary enterprise warmly responded to these appeals. The new importa- 
tion of merinos AA as hailed Avith enthusiasm. From $1,000 to $1,500 a 
head Avas frecpiently paid for them. Flocks of full-bloods or grades Avere 
started in all parts of the country. UnAvashed full-blood aaooI rose to 
$2 50 a pound during the Avar. 

The peace of Ghent exposed our infimt and unprotected manufactures 
to the competition of the Avorld. The (exhaustion and derangement of 
our iinances accelerated their oA^erthrow, and they fell Avithout a strug 



1 
I 



«)•- 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. GO 

gle, and irretrievably. There was no longer any market for fine wool in 
the United States ; and merinos valned at $1,000 a head in 1801) sold for 
a dollar a head in 1815. Their propagation as a separate breed was 
thenceforth abandoned by most owners, and the great mass of them 
became merged in the common coarse sheep of tlie conntry. 

This state of things continned nntil 1824. In the tariii* of that year 
the protective policy on wool and Avoollens, inangiirated by the tariff of 
1816, was so far extended that it was snpposed it wonld make fine wool 
prodnction again profitable. The Saxon (merino) sheep were introduced, 
and created a new fine wool furor eqnal to that between 1809 and 1815. 
The tariff of 1828 increased the i^rotection and increased the excitement. 

If we did not know the singular one-ideaism which so often charac- 
terizes these "improvement" manias, it would be a subject of astonish- 
ment that while the Saxon sheep were sought with so much eagerness, 
commanding quite equal prices with those of the Spanish merinos fifteen 
years earlier, the pure blood flocks of the latter yet in the country 
attracted comparatively little notice, and they were chiefly valued because 
they would grade up more rapidly than other sheep toward the Saxon 
standard of fineness; in other words, make a better cross with the Saxons. 
Most unfortunately a large share of the holders of the Spanish, or ''old- 
fashioned merinos," as they were then called, adopted the same theory 
of relative value and rushed into the cross, breeding steadily towards 
the Saxons, so as to obliterate the distinctive Spanish characteristics 
as rapidly as possible. Yet at that very time, and at all subsequent times, 
prime Spanish fleeces were Avorth more in market than Saxon fleeces. 
The greater weight of the former more than comi^ensated for the greater 
fineness of the latter. The Spanish were a strong, hardy, thoroughly 
acclimated sheex), well adapted to our climate and systems of husbandry. 
The Saxons were the reverse in every j)articular.i 

Yet for upwards of fifteen years the Saxons maintained an almost 
undisputed ascendancy. Their faults Avere attributed to want of accli- 
mation. They had cost too much to be readily given uj). They were in 
the hands of the wealtliy influential farmers, prominent in agiicultural 
literature, and prominent in i)olitics, who believed themselves and con- 
vinced others that the conditions of success could be secured l>y protec- 
tive legislation. A corresi)onding class of manufacturers urged the same 
views. A constant struggle was kept up on the floors of Congress 
between the friends and enemies of protection, each usually maintaining 
extreme views, so that when either was victorious extreme measures 

^ To a similar statement in ''Fine Wool Husbandry" I appended a note, which with a 
slight change I will copy here : 

"I trust no former breeder of the Saxons will complain of these remarks, when I say ' quorum, pars fui. 
Thirty-eight years ago I became the owner of a pure Spanish tlock. Subsequently I purchased Home Saxons, 
an-1 was so gratified with the produce of a few picked sheep, th.at I bought and bred a flock usually number- 
ing from 500 to 700. They were derived from the most celebrated flocks. I kept them several years and 
gave them a fair trial before going back to the Spanish raerinos, which, very fortunately for myself, I had 
never entirely abandoned." 



70 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

were adopted. Consequently tbere was none of that steadiness or per- 
manency in the public i)olicy, under which industrial interests materially 
attected by foreign competition can alone flourish. I have not space here 
to give the provisions of the different wool and woollen tariffs, but a 
glance at the prices of wool under them will throw some interesting light 
on the subject under examination. 

Under the tariff of 1824, in force until September, 1828, fine wool aver- 
aged a trifle over 15 cents a pound ; under the tariff of 1828, extending 
to March 3, 1832, about 57 cents a pound; under the tariff' of 1832, 
extending to January, 1831, about 57 cents a i)ound; under the tariff* of 
1833, to towards the close of 1837, about 66|^ cents a pound ; thenceforth 
under the same tariff, extending to October, 1841, about 51f cents a 
pound; under the tariff" of 1841, extending to Sei)tember of that year, 
about 4GJ cents a pound ; under the first year of the tariff* of 1842, about 
35 J cents a pound; thenceforth under the same tariff', extending to 
December, 184G, about 41 cents a pound. Diuing this entire period of 
22 years, fine wool did not on the average exceed medium wool in i>rice 
more than 10 cents a jjound, and medium still less exceeded coarse.^ 

During the same period, pure Saxon sheep in the best flocks averaged 
less than three pounds of wool per head. In 1840 the flock of Henry 
D. Grove, the celebrated German imi)orter and breeder — not numbering 
over 200 sheep, and well kept — yielded an average of 2 pounds 11 ounces 
of washed wool a head, and he regarded this product as so satisfactory 
that he adduced it as a proof of the value of his favorite breed in that 
controversy between the advocates of the Saxons and Spanish merinos 
which was then filling our agricultural publications.^ 

This controversy had opened in about 1835. At that i^eriod small 
picked lots of Spanish merinos, i^urchased by different persons of Mr. 
Jarvis, yielded 4J pounds of washed wool a head. The flocks of Stephen 
Atwood, of Connecticut; of John T. Rich, of Vermont; of Francis Rotch, 
of ]S^ew York, and my own, yielded an equal amount.^ 

The increase in the weight of Spanish fleeces was thenceforth rapid. 
In 1844, my Humphreys sheep yielded 5 pounds 13 ounces of washed 
wool a head,'^ and a small lot of Rich ewe tegs i)urchased in Vermont, 
five pounds. In 1845, Mr. Stephen Atwood wrote to the author of the 

^From J827 to J861 inclusive, a period of 35 years, the average price of fine wool at 
Boston was 50 3-10 cents ; of medium, 41 8-10 cents ; of coarse, 35-^ cents. Fine wool aver- 
aged ]5 per centum higher than medium, and medium 14 per centum higher tliau coarse. 

'•^See his letter to me in "Transactions" of New York State Agricultural Society, 1841, p. 
333. 

2 Mr. Atwood's flock and my own, here referred to, were descended from Colonel 
Humphrey's flock; Mr. Rich's from a Paular importation made at Xew York in 1811 ; Mr. 
Kotch's were selected from different flocks. 

^ Four of the ewes had two years' fleeces on, but I thought this fully oftsetted by the 
number of tegs in the flock, which, under the usual treatment of those days, yielded consid 
erably less wool than grown sheep. My Premium rain's first fleece in 1844 was 10 pounds. 
In 1847 one of my ewt*s produced 7 pounds 10 tiunces. In 1849 one of my rams pro- 
duced 13 pounds 3 ounces. All were well washed. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 71 

American Shepherd, that his flock consisted of 150 half ewes and half 
rams and ^yethe^s; that his ewes yielded live ])onnds of washed wool 
per head, and his lambs an equal amount; that his wethers yielded six 
pounds, and his rams from seven to nine i)ounds ; that his heaviest ewe\s 
fleece in the preceding spring was six x^ounds six ounces, and the 
heaviest ram's fleece 12 pounds 4 ounces. I think a few other flocks 
yielded about equal amounts of .wool, but the facts are not before me. 
The prime merinos of that period then were producing upwards of two 
pounds more of wool a head than prime Saxons, while that of the latter 
fetched in the market but G J cents per i)ound most in 1845, and but 6J 
cents i)er pound most in 1846. 

The Saxon breeders had never received anything like a proportionable 
remuneration for their wool. They had lived on hopes deferred, looking- 
for changes Avhicli never came. When the tarifl' of 1840 overthrew the 
broadcloth manuftictures of the country, there was no longer any ground 
for hoiDC, and the Saxon sheep rapidly disappeared and gave place to 
the American merinos, as the Spanish sheep were thenceforth generally 
called. 

They had indeed become a distinctive variety, like the Saxon Merino, 
the French merino, &c., i^resenting both essential and visible dift'erences 
from their Sx:>anisli ancestors or from any other merino family. They 
differed materially from the Si)anish in amount of wool, size, and form. 
The weights of prime American washed fleeces have just been stated. 
Livingston gives the average weight of the Spanish ram's fleece, 
iimvashedy at the beginning of this century, at 8.J i^ounds — Youatt at 
eight pounds. Both give the average of the unwashed ewe's fleece at 
five pounds. The King of England's carefully selected Negrettis, about 
100 in number, yielded, for five successive years, (1708-1802,) an average 
of 3i|f pounds of brook-washed avooI — scoured weight '-^IIy- This 
included the wool of some wethers (the number unspecilied) but no 
rams.^ In 1801 Dupont de Nemours and an associate sent to the United 
States unquestionably the largest-fleeced Spanish ram ever introduced 
here.^ He produced 8J i^ounds of washed wool. Colonel Humiflireys 
mentions it as a matter of note, in a manuscript letter which I have 
read, that a merino ram bred by himself yielded seven i)ounds five 
ounces of washed wool. 

In respect to size and form, Petri, who visited Spain in the early part 
of this century to examine its merinos, gave a table from which I select 

^ See Sir Joseph Banks's annual reports concerning this flock. 

2 Dupont de Nemours was Lead of the commission appointed by the French government 
to select the merinos given up by Spain by the treaty of Basle. He and M. Delessert sent 
four rams to America, three of them intended for their own farms in this country, and one 
for President Jefferson. All but one perished on the passage. The remark in the text is 
confined to Spanish sheep imported from Spain. French merinos of heavier fleece were 
subsequently introduced. 



72 



PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 



the following adineasureinents. I add some corresponding ones of 
American merinos : 



Names of flocks. 



Kegretti : 

Ram 

Ewe 

Infantado : 

Ram 

Ewe 

Guadeloupe : 

Ram 

Ewe 

Estautes of Sierra de Some : 

Ram 

Ewe 

Small Est antes: 

Ram 

Ewe 

American merino : 

Ram 

Ewe 

Ewe 

Ewe 



"o 


o 


c 








^ 


^ 


x 


be 

n 




2 « 


-c 


S V 


0^ 


"3 

a 


s £ 

o o 
4: ■= 


S 2 

C 3 

ii 2 


S 


^ 


^ =» 


00 


bo 


bo 


« 


a 


a 


^ 




•^ 


Lbs. 


In. 


Ft. in. 


97 


9J 


1 7 


67 


8* 


1 6 


lOOi 


10 


1 6 


70 


9 


1 5^ 


97i 


9 


1 6 


69 


9 


1 2 


96^ 


9ir 


1 6 


62^ 


9 


1 2 


42 


7i 


1 3 


30 


7 


1 1 


122 


9 


10 


114 


9i 


10 


122 


9 


10 


100 


9 


11 



6 « 



^ 
u 

s 



2 2 

2 1 

2 3 

2 1 

2 2 

2 1 

2 

2 1 

1 9 

1 6 

2 4 
2 4 
2 5 
2 3 



Ft. in. 
4 6i 
4 2i 

4 7 
4 3i 

4 5 

3 11 

4 3i 
4 

3 7i 
3 2 

3 11 

3 Ui 

4 
3 11 



c := 



O 



Jf«. in. 

4 U 

4 U 

4 2 

3 11 

4 5^ 

3 9 

4 2^ 
3 10 

3 2 
2 10 

4 4i 
4 U 
4 3 
4 i 



1 3 

1 1 

1 
1 

1 

lOi 

1 

11 

10 



11 
11 

9 

8i 






In. 
10 
9i 

9 

8} 



6i 

8 
7 

6^ 
6 

9 
9 
9 



In. 



6 

6 

5^ 

6 
4 

6 
5 

3 
3 

9 

8 
8 
8 



The weights and measures given of the Spanish sheep are Austrian, 
a little exceeding English weights and measures. From a careful com- 
parison of all the figures, I think Petri must have taken the circnmfer- 
ence of the belly without compressing the wool, for if there was no 
greater difterence in this particular, it is difficult to see from the above 
table — notwithstanding the marked superiority in breadth of hip of the 
American sheep — why they should have weighed so much the most. 
The American ram represented in the table was a small one, not usually 
weighing over 100 pounds with his fleece off. A fidl- sized one of the 
tamily (Infantado) would have weighed from 10 to 25 i^ounds more. 
The ewes were rather above the average of my gro^^^l sheep of the same 
tamily, and were in good ordinary condition. My measurements 
were made in 1861, and therefore do not exactly represent merinos of 
1810 ; but I think the change in size and form was not very considera- 
ble between those dates ; and I am not aware that any corresi)onding 
data of the American merinos of 1810 are i^reserved. 

Some persons i)erhaps will get a clearer idea of the difference between 
the form of Spanish and American merinos from descriptive terms than 
from the above figures. The American sheep was far the lowest, round- 
est, and most comi)act animal, broader on the hip, fuller and broader in 
the bosom and breech, and shorter, proportionably, in the neck and legs. 
The Spanish migratory sheep travelled 800 miles a year, and, all things 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 73 

considered, with great rapidity ; and his deep, narrow chest, longer legs, 
and lean form — making some approach to that of the deer — adapted him 
to that necessity. The American farmer had no occasion for snch i)rop- 
erties, and he bred a sheep better calculated to take on flesh and fat, and 
possessing more of the essential points which are found most i^rofitable 
in animals not required to travel far for their feed. 

The American merino has not much increased in size during the last 
20 years, and probably scarce any since 18G1. Our breeders, indeed, 
have sought no such increase, considering it unx^rofitable in resi:>ect to 
wool production, inasmuch as smaller animals have more surface in pro- 
portion to weight than larger ones, and believing that a development of 
size greatly beyond the long established limits of the breed is unfavor- 
able to vigor, hardinesss, and easy keeping. I think tlie introduction 
of French merinos (1840-1850) exerted much influence on j)ublic opinion 
and taste in this i)articular. These great overgrown sheep, which at first 
attracted so much admiration, proved so comj)letely w^eak and worthless 
that our breeders got to eschew everything resembling them, and the 
popular impression Avas that their want of constitution was due to their 
extraordinary size for the breed, or rather to the same causes which had 
produced that size.^ 

The Eich or Paular family of American merinos, w hen not much mixed 
with the Humphreys or Infantado family, are smaller than the latter — 
having been bred purposely in that direction by their earlier proprietors, 
to adapt them to the short keep of the Vermont hills. In their natural 
and unpampered state, they are nearly as hardy under i)rivation and 
exposure as the British mountain breeds. The unpampered American 
Infantado is also a hardy sheep, but requires more food than the former. 
The two families bear the same relation to each other as do Devon and 
shorthorn cattle. One is the most profitable in sterile and exposed sit- 
uations, the other on rich lands and generous keep. Latterly, the Paular 
family have been, to a large extent, crossed with and bred towards the 
Infantados, but I think it highly expedient that they be i)reserved as a 
distinct variety, to meet the wants of many portions of our coiuitry. 

While the carcass of the merino has been so materially improved in 
the United States, and Avhile its improved form has doubtless diminished 
its capacity for long and ra^nd travelling, I am not aware that it (I speak 
of unpampered sheep) has lost in any characteristic of value for its 
present situation. From my own recollections of the breed when it Avas 
but little changed from the original Spanish model, and from all the 

' I do not intend to apply these remarks indiscriminately to the merinos of France. The 
stock imported by Mr. D. C. Collins, in 1840, from the royal flock at Rambouillet, were not 
thus overgrown. Their size, however, materially exceeding that of the American merino, 
was an entire novelty and a most captivating one to the popular eye. Consequently most of 
the later importers selected not only from the largest French stocks, but the largest sheep of 
the flocks from which they purchased — often payiug comparatively little attention to 
other characteristics. These gaunt, unthrifty monsters, required an excess of keep and 
care, and then they generally perished within a year or two of the period of their introduc 
tion here. 



74 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

older recollections of experienced and reliable men witli whom I con- 
versed many years ago on the snbject — men in various instances whose 
recollections of these sheep extended back to the time of their importa- 
tions in 1809-1811, I am satisfied that their vigor of constitution has 
been on the whole increased ; that they are more prolific, and furnish 
their offspring more milk ; and it is certain, as already said, that they 
fatten more rapidly and better, and furnish better mutton. They accu- 
mulate, it is true, far less fat than the English mutton breeds ; but good 
merino wethers are favorites in our markets. Their meat is darker 
colored and shorter grained than that of English sheep. It flavor is 
good. Multitudes of Americans prefer it to English mutton, and especi- 
ally to Long- wool mutton j and the lambs of Southdown rams and grade 
merino ewes sell in our early markets for equal prices, pound for pound, 
with full blood Southdowns; perhaps the only other variety which 
habitually commands an extra i^rice. And it has been found that pam- 
l)ering from birth, as mutton sheep are pampered, gives the merino a 
very liberal share of that early matiuity which has been denied to it 
by those who have described the original variety. I am not contending, 
by any means, that the improved American merino rivals the British 
breeds as a profitable mutton sheep ; but I would show that it no longer 
takes the low rank in that particular which has been traditionally 
assigned to it, and that its mutton has become an important considera- 
tion in estimating its general value, or its comparative adaptation to 
special localities. 

But it is in weight of fleece that the American merino has made the 
most remarkable advance beyond its progenitors. We have seen that 
in 1844-'5 small very choice lots yielded an average of over 5 lbs. a head 
of washed wool. Now flocks of several hundred, including tegs, with- 
out any wethers and not more than one per cent, of rams, on fair ordi- 
nary keep, yield an equal amount. Elocks of picked sheep yield 6 lbs. 
a head, and small, high-kept lots a pound or two more, all of washed 

AVOOl. 

It has become difficult indeed, for reasons which Avill presently appear, 
to learn accurately the amount of well-washed wool in a large i)roportion 
of the heaviest-fleeced small flocks. These are usually in the hands of 
" breeders" — ram-sellers, as they are termed in England — who raise sheep 
esi)ecially to sell them for breeding piuposes, and who expect to obtain 
extraordinary prices. This business has been highly remunerative for a 
number of years j and during the recent war of the rebellion, the 
demand for choice merinos swelled into a mania. According to the 
popular idea "king cotton" was dead, and there was to be no resurrec- 
tion for him. Woollen fabrics Avere permanently to supersede cotton 
fabrics in clothing, and in everji^hing else where it coidd be emplojed 
as a substitute. There was therefore to be an enormous and perpetual 
demand for wool at high prices. Stimulated by such golden prospects, 
sheep holders increased their flocks, and made the most energetic efl'orts 
to imi)rove them by the purchase of valuable rams j and thousands of 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 75 

persons, wliolly inexperienced in the business, Jibandoned other pursuits 
to embark for the ovine El Dorado. I think, speaking within bounds, 
I received two or three thousand letters, between 18(>1 and 1807, from 
lawyers, doctors, small merchants, clerks, mechanics, men out of busi- 
ness, clergymen, and farmers not previously engaged in sheep hus- 
bandry, who propouiuled inquiries on the subject of breeds, the most 
profitable localities for wool groAving, and other matters connected with 
the establishment of flocks. 

The prices of sheep rose above the high-w^ater marks of 1809-15 and 
1824-28. Without speaking of ''refused ofters,'- which sometimes are 
not very real, I know that an American merino ram actually sold for 
$5,000; (piite a number of others at $3,000 to $4,000 each ; and nudtitudes 
at $500 to $1,000 each. Several ewes were sold at $3,000 each ; more at 
$2,000 each ; and many at $500 to $1,000 each. There Avas the most 
eager competition to secirre celebrated and costly animals; for every 
man exi^ected to become a ram seller forthwith, and he found no difti" 
culty in con\incing himself how very soon he could thus obtain back 
his original expenditure, and then, by an easier process than was dreamed 
of by the alchemists, transmute his sheep into gold. In the permanent 
improvements of flocks, these costly animals, it is true, often richly i)aid 
for themselves ; ^ but many of the recent adventurers in the business 
were not satisfied with this — Avere not satisfied because they could not 
at once sell for as high prices as they had given ; and Avhen at the close 
of the Avar a temporary depression necessarily ensued in the woollen and 
consequently in the avooI markets, (oAving to causes Avhich do not demand 
explanation liere^) they were as anxious to abandon as they had been to 
embark in sheep husbandry. 

This remarkable era in merino breeding, commencing in sound meas- 
ures of improA'ement, but culminating during the Avar in the excitement 
which I liaA'e described, de a eloped scAcral fashions in breeding and 
management Avhich Avere altogether new in the business. Quality of 
wool was little talked about. Weight of fleece was the iirimary con- 

^Take an example. My Amerieaa merino ram, " Twenty-one per cent," (measurements, 
&c., of which are subjoined to Petri's table, heretofore given,) was previously owned by 
Major Davis Cossit, of Onondaga, New York, and used by him in 1859 and the two suc- 
ceeding years. His ewes were Saxons, with sufficient American merino blood to yield, on 
ordinary keep, about 4 Jbs. of washed wool a head. In 1862 the fleeces of the progeny of 
this cross were first weighed separately. Eighty-three two-year old ewes yielded 552 lbs., 
and 80 yearling ewes 504 lbs. of washed wool — within a fraction of 0^ lbs. a head. Each lot 
was the entire one (of ewes) of the year. In 1863, 65 two-year old and 92 yearling ewes 
yielded 1,119^ lbs. of washed wool, or an average of 7 lbs. 2 oz. a head. The yearlings 
■were not over 14 months old when shorn, and none of the sheep had been pampered. The 
original stock of ewes would never have fetched over, say, $8 a head immediately after 
shearing. For their progeny (ewes) the owner was offered $30 a head. The grade rams 
were mostly sold in lots, for $15 to $25 a head. I used this ram three years on my full-blood 
ewes ; and I think he permanently increased the wool product of the flock half a pound per 
head — quite as extraordinary a gain as the preceding one, when the blood and previous pro- 
duct of my flock are considered. This remarkable ram was bred by Mr. Hammond, of 
Vermont. 



76 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

sideration ; and it became the custom of many " breeders'' to weigh the 
fleeces in the yolk, because, I suppose, it gave them an advantage over 
others. A rigid system of housing their sheep from contact with rain 
or snow the year round would j)reserve all the yolk in the fleece, and 
this would add to its weight several pounds. The holders of larger 
flocks could not do this without great inconvenience and exi)ense. The 
former, therefore, were enabled to go into the newsj^apers with far higher 
statements of weights of fleeces. Inasmuch as this system of housing 
and preserving all the yolk in the wool gave the fleece externally a very 
dark color, that color soon became a prime necessity of fashion. And 
as the more the yolk, the more the weight and the darker the color, yolk 
itself was as carefully bred for as wool. I have seen it literally dropping 
fi'om the fleece under a hot sun. As a high-fed sheep produces con- 
siderably more wool and yolk than an ordinarily kept one, a system of 
l)amx)ering was also extensively resorted to. Many of the summer and 
winter housed flocks were fed grain to the utmost verge of immediate 
safety, and far beyond the bounds of ultimate safety ; for such continued 
forcing is destructive to the constitution and longevity of merino sheep, 
as all will bear witness who have tried or observed its effects. 

Under the above system of breeding and treatment, and sometimes 
without any special pami)ering, merino rams' fleeces in the yolk are fre- 
quently reported as weighing ui) wards of 25 i^ounds, and some have risen 
to 30 pounds. Ewes' fleeces range from 10 i^ounds to 15 pounds, and 
sometimes indi\iduals or small lots have gone higher. Unfortunately 
these weights afford scarcely an approximate criterion of the actual weight 
of the wool., the proportion of yolk to wool i^ossessing no uniformity. The 
breeders' customs above described constitute the reason which I j)romised 
to give, in a preceding part of this paper, why the present amount of 
well washed wool in most of the heaviest fleeced flocks cannot be accu- 
rately determined. 

The practice of housing sheep from rain and snow for the preceding- 
objects is not a fraud, if distinctly avowed to all buyers. But I think it 
productive of no benefit, and of considerable injury. It is a useless waste 
of a good deal of time, and occasionally produces loss in other respects. 
The new-mown hay or grain must be left to get wet on the grouiul, to the 
serious deterioration of its quality, rather than have the i)recious weight- 
giving and color- giving yolk washed out of the fleece! And there can, it 
appears to me, be no reasonable doubt that this habitual non-exposure to 
the ordinary changes of weather must, in the course of time, to a greater 
or lesser degree, beget an incapacity to endure such exposures with 
entire inqmnity. Besides, this housing, if ever so frankly proclaimed, 
tends to warp the judgment of all buyers, and especially inexperienced 
buyers. If it did not give a fictitious value to the animal — rendering it 
more salable than sheep of equal value not thus treated — Avhat would be 
the use of it? It is perfectly notorious that it, with early shearing,^ does 

• These "fitted " sheep are sheared from a month and a half to two months earlier than 
sheep in general. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 77 

SO alter the appearance of sheep, that a pair of twins of the closest resem- 
blance, one thus treated and the other not, scarcely look as if tliey 
belonged to the same variety, and the '' fitted" one will far outsell the 
other. It is considered the breeder's right, in all kinds of domestic stock, 
to "put the best foot forward," and it is equally done with other breeds 
of sheep; but it is a pity that a higher standard of action cannot be per- 
mitted to prevail. Such foshions beget inducements to direct fraud* 
Thousands oi painted sheep (painted to the true color by a preparation of 
oil, burnt umber, and a little lampblack) are annually hawked about the 
country, with x>edigrees as artificial as their color^ and sold as genuine 
simon pures. 

Fitting sheep for sale by pampering is fraudident, for it is never avowed 
or admitted, and if it were so, there can be no honest or decent excuse 
for a practice which is directly and undeniably fatal to the well-being of 
the animal. We have no right to poison what we sell, because we know 
there will be fools to buy it, and to buy it more readily because it is 
l)oisoned. Another result has followed this indiscriminate scramble for 
huge fleeces. Those who have can-ied it farthest have usually consider- 
ably dei)reciated the quality of the wool. The finest fleeces are not gen- 
erally the heaviest. The greatest combination of wool and yolk — how- 
ever coarse, uneven, and even hairy, the former — has been what these 
extremists have looked for in their breeding rams ; and the i>rogeny of 
such rams must of course partake of the same characteristics. I shall 
presently speak of the prevailing character of American merino wool. 

To comi)lete my account of these animals I must allude to one more 
modern fashion, that of breeding those folds and corrugations of the skin, 
usually termed "wrinkles." They, to a certain extent, characterized the 
original Spanish merino when introduced into this country, but they were 
confined i)rincipally to the neck. To a reasonable extent they are approved 
of in all countries where the merino is bred, being understood to indicate 
heavy fleeces. But our American extremists reasoned that, if some were 
desirable, more would necessarily be better; and these wrinkles "took 
the eye" of novices. Our most sagacious breeders have continued to 
resist this innovation; but it is not uncommon to see rams, and even 
ewes, in addition to enormous neck-folds, closely covered from head to 
tail with folds in the skin, elevated an inch or more from the surface of 
the body. There are two profound objections to this. The wool on the 
ui)per part of the ridges very rarely corresponds in quality with that 
between them, thus destroying all CAenness of fleece; and it often takes 
an expert shearer two hours to clip ofl^" the fleece of one sheep evenly. 
With shearers at $2 to $2 50 a day, the last consideration will prove an 
important one among wool growers who own sheep in any considerable 
numbers, and this miserable fashion cannot long prevail. 

Notwithstanding the shams and deceits, as well as more innocent prac- 
tices, which have been resorted to by a class of sellers of American 
merinos to produce great fleeces in their unwashed state, there has 



78 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

unquestionably been a very great improvement in the actual weight of 
the washed or scoured fleeces within the last few years. I do not believe 
there is any other national family of merinos, or any other breed of 
sheep Avhatever, that can vie Avith them in this respect. This fact is, I 
think, established by the scouring tests made so frequently duiing the 
last few years by State and local wool growers' associations, and by indi- 
viduals. In all these, which have commanded any attention, the sheep 
have been publicly shorn at the meeting of an association, or, in indi" 
vidua! tests, in the jiresence of a number of reputable witnesses. The 
age of the fleece has been proven by affidavits. Where the test made 
was the proportion of wool to weight of animal, the animal has been i)ub- 
licly weighed Avhen shorn, and its condition noted. The associations have 
selected comiietent and reliable wool manufacturers to perform the scour- 
ing, and required of them statements of processes and results. The New 
York State association, in its scouring tests of 1805, 18()0, and 1867, 
appointed a committee of eminent and exi)erienced gentlemen to make an 
examination of all the facts and of the scoured ayooI;^ and other State 
and county associations, and individuals, have taken these or other 
steps deemed necessary to secure accui*acy and command entire i)ublic 
confidence. 

These experiments have demonstrated that the scoured fleeces of 
American merino rams of full growth not unfreqnently range from six to 
over eight pounds, and in a recent instance, in this State, (Xew York,) 
one reached the weight of nine i)ounds and three ounces, the fleece being 
of 11 months and 21 days' growth. This ram was three years old, weighed 
108 ])ounds after shearing, and was in good condition. His unwashed 
fleece was 21 pounds. The scoured fleeces of full-grown American merino 
ewes frequently weigh from five to over five and a half i^ounds; the shorn 
carcases weighing from, say, 6o to 75 pounds. And it should be remarked 
that the heaviest fleeced sheep of the most celebrated flocks have, in very 
few instances, been entered in these scouring tests, for the reason, doubt- 
less, that their owners have not been willing to risk their established 
reputation by any new or unnecessary experiments. 

From the preceding facts it appears, first, that iu4me American merinos 
produced more tcashed wool in 1811:-'1() than was i^rodnced of unleashed 
wool by the original stock in Spain, at their i)almiest period, the opening 
of the present century; second, that i^rime American merinos i)roduce 
about as much scoured wool now as they did of washed wool in 1814-'16, 
and nearly twice as much scoured wool as the picked merino flock of the 
King of Great Britain from 1798 to 1802.^ They undoubtedly juoduce 
twice as much scoured ayooI as the average of the prime Spanish flocks 
at that period. 

^ The comtiiittee also fipprai.«ed the value of the scoured wool, aud presented various other 
comparative data of value, not necessary to be mentioned here. 

" I take into account the wethers in the King's flock, which yield considerably more wool 
than ewes. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 79 

It remains to speak of the quality of Aiiiericau merino wool. From 
the best information I can obtain, the ayooI of the descendants of the 
original Spanish sheep imported into this country rather gained in 
quality between 1809 and 1824. This was undoubtedly true of the Jarvis 
and Humphreys stocks f and from 1824 to 1840 there was a more decided 
gain in this direction, owing to the taste for line wools diffused by the 
prevalence of the Saxons. After 1840, for reasons already stated, the 
demand for broadcloth wools ceased, and our merino breeders sought a 
rather coarser and also a longer staple, because it was equally adapted 
to the fabrics in which it was thenceforth employed, and because much 
heavier fleeces could thereby be secured. It is now, in our heaviest 
fleeced flocks, too coarse for a good quality of broadcloths, and it is also 
quite too long for that purpose, two inches and a half being not far from 
the medium length, and wool three inches long being frequently met 
with. It has a remarkably strong stai^le, and is found admirably adapted 
to fine wool combing purposes and to those medium fabrics which con- 
stitute so large a i)roportion of the consumption of the United States. 

In regard to the particular i^roperties of our full blood and grade 
American merino wools, the executive committee of the National Associa- 
tion of Wool Manufacturers, the committee itself consisting of the most 
eminent and successful manufacturers in the United States, bore the fol- 
lowing voluntary testimony in a public rei)ort made in 1800 : " In a class of 
fabrics, entering perhaps more largely than any other into general con- 
sumption — that of flannels — the superiority due principally to the admira- 
ble adaptation of the common ayooIs of this country, their strength and 
spinning qualities is so marked as almost wholly to exclude the foreign 
flannels. American fancy cassimeres compare favorably in finish, fine- 
ness, and strength, Avith those imported. Our delaines, owing again, in 
a great measure, to the excellence of our merino combing wool, surpass 
the fabrics of Bradford at the same price. The excellence of American 
shawls was admitted at the Great Exhibition in London." And they 
subsequently add: ''It has been the exi)erience of all nations, that the 
domestic supply of this raw material has been the first, and always the 
chief, dependence of its manufacturers, and the j)eculiar character of this 
material has inq^ressed itself upon the fabrics which each country has 
produced. Thus, in the fine wools of Saxony and Silesia, Ave haA e the 
source of German broadcloths; in the combing wools of England, the 
worsteds of Bradford ; and, in the long merino avooIs of France, the ori- 
gin of her thibets and cashmeres. The ijeculiar excellencies of American 
wools have giA en origin to our flannels, our cassimeres, our shawls, and 
our delaines ; and they giA^e strength and soundness to all the fabrics 
into Avhicli they enter." 

A gradually reviAing demand for avooI suitable for broadcloths and 
some other fine fabrics has led to the introduction, Avithin a few years, of 
merinos of shorter and finer staple, from Silesia, in Prussia; sheep A^astly 
suijerior to our former Saxons in size, constitution, and i)roduct of avooI. 



80 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

There are also Saxon slieep, so-called, of pure merino blood, in contigu- 
ous portions of western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and the part of 
West Virginia which lies between those States, which furnish a very 
high quality of broadcloth wool. They too are larger, hardier, and yield 
more wool than the original Saxons imj^orted in 1824-1828. But any 
account or description of these families does not come within the pro- 
vince of this paper. 
Cortland Village, Keic Yorl', July, 1808. 



APPENDIX B. 

THE ANGOllA GOAT: ITS ORIGIN, CULTURE, AND PRODUCTS.^ 

By John L. Hayes, 
Secretary of the National Association of Wool Manufacturers. 

The Jardin des Plaiites, tlie source aud model of our societies of 
natural history, gave to the world uot only Buifon and Cuvier, Avho, by 
their brilliant labors, won for the researches of the naturalist a place in 
the domain of science, before accorded only to studies of the imi)ondera- 
ble elements, but two other scarcely less illustrious naturalists, whose 
labors Avere inspired by the xnirx^ose of applying their favorite science to 
increase the material resources of man. To this idea France owes the 
merino sheep with which Daubenton endowed her, and the Imperial 
Society of Acclimatation, the creation of Geoflroy St. Hilaire, Avhich aims 
to submit to practical study all the animals by whose acquisition the 
geographical zone of France can be advantageously augmented. Trust- 
ing that this society may regard with favor the discussion of a subject 
akin to those which have received the attention of the great practical 
naturalists of France, I propose to submit a memoir uijon the Angora 
goat, the last acquisition which our agricultin'e and manufactures have 
received from the animal kingdom. 

When we reflect that of the numerous species which compose the ani- 
mal kingdom 43 only are at the command of man, and that the only 
lanigerous animal extensively appropriated in this country, besides its 
product of food, has furnished in a single year, from domestic sources, 
70 per cent, of the raw material for a manufactiu^e valued at over 
$120,000,000, we must regard the acquisition of a new animal, producing 
food and material for clothing, as an epoch in the industrial history of 
the country. It is the peculiar province of a society like this to aid the 
development of this new national resource by shedding the fullest light 
upon the specific and geographical source of this animal, upon its habits, 
food, and diseases, the use of its products, and, al)OA'e all, upon the laws 
which govern its reproduction ; in a word, to make upon this subject 
natural history applied. As my object is less to present original matter 
than to diffuse the best authenticated information, corrected by your 
criticism, or sanctioned by your approval, a work rendered necessary by 
the errors abounding in agricultural reports and publications, I sliall 
avail myself of the memoirs of M. Brandt, M. Tchihatcheff, M. Sacc, and 
M. Boulier, naturalists of high repute, and the very numerous iiotices scat- 
tered through the proceedings of the Imperial Society of Acclimatation. 

The description of this animal, given in 1855, by M. Brandt, director 
of the Museum at St. Petersburg, and distinguished among the zoologists 

'Read before the Boston Society of Natural History, March 18, 1868. 

6 w 



82 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

of Europe for liis conscientious work and profound knowledge, is as fol- 
lows : " The magnificent example of the Angora goat, which the Museum 
of the Imperial Academy owes to M. Tchihatcheff, produces at first sight 
the geneial impression of a domestic goat, when attention is not directed 
to its thick and silky fleece, to its flat ears turned doA\ nwards, and its 
inconsiderable size. But it is precisely these traits which impress upon 
this animal a distinct seal, which give it the character of a peculiar race, 
whose origin is perhaps not the same as that of the domestic goat. The 
extremity of the snout, the cheeks, the nasal and frontal bone, as well as 
the ears, and lower i)art of the legs below the tarsal articulation, are 
fcovered- with external hairs, which are shorter and thicker than those 
which cover the above-mentioned parts in other species of goats. The 
forehead has soft hairs of less length, less applied to the skin, and, in 
part, curled. The hair of the beard, which is pointed and of moderate 
dimensions, being six inches in length,^ is stiffer than the hair of the rest 
of the body, but less so than that of the beard of the ordinary goat. The 
horns, of a grayish white tint, are longer than the headj at their lower 
part the interior marginal border turns inwards in such a manner that 
in this part they appear broad viewed in front, and narrow when seen 
exteriorly 5 at half their extension they direct themselves moderately 
backwards, and turn spirally outwards, so that their extremities, directed 
slightly ui^wards, are very much separated one from the other, and cir- 
cumscribe a space gradually contracting itself. The Avhole of the neck, 
as Avell as the trnnk, is covered with long hairs, Avhich, particularly upon 
the neck and lateral parts of the body, are twisted in sj^ii^als having the 
appearance of loosened ringlets, it being observed at the same time that 
they unite themselves into rolled tufts, a disposition which is less marked 
in the anterior part of the neck. The hairs which exhibit the greatest 
length are situated above the forelegs, and are almost nine and one-half 
inches long. Those of the neck are a little shorter and are nine inches 
long, and those of the belly eight inches three lines. The length of the 
hair Avith Avhich the lateral parts of the body, as well as the back, are 
covered, is only se\^en inches six lines, and that of the hair of the hind 
legs six inches to seven inches. Finally the slight stiff hair of the tail is 
about foiu- inches in length. The color of the robe of the animal is a pure 
white, here and there slightly inclining to yelloAV. The hoofs, somcAvhat 
small in proportion, are, like the horns, of a grayish Avhite tint. The hair 
is, Avithout exception, long, soft, and fine; it is at once silky and greasy 
to the touch, and shows distinctly the brilliancy of silk.'^ 

M. Brandt obser\"es that the hairs corresponding most to external hair 
haA^e only a third, or at most do not attain half, the thickness of the 
external hair of the common goat ; and that the external hair of the 
wild and domestic goats is not only closer, stifl'er, and more massive, but 
has a more considerable torsion and a less even siuiace ; that is to say, 

* All the diineusions given by M. Brandt are in German measurement. One German foot 
is equal to 1.0291) Englisli feet. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 83 

it is rouglier and more scaly. He also remarked that " the walls of the 
hair of the Angora goat being thinner than those of the hair of the com- 
mon goat, the snbstance contained in the fatty ('ellules oozes out more 
readily, which renders the hair of the Angora goat softer and more flexi- 
ble, and gives it the lustre of silk." 

M. Brandt omits to mention that the long ringlets cover the hair, 
properly called, which is rough and short and lies sparingly upon the 
skin. 

The dimensions of the specimen examined by Mr. Brandt are given by 

him as follows : ^ 

Ft. in I. 

From the point of the snout to the root of the tail 5 4 2 

Length of head 11 9 

From the point of the snout to the eye 5 1 

From the eye to the ear 2 5 

From the eye to the horns 1 9 

Length of ear 

Length of horns in direct diameter 1 2 

Length of horns following the curvature 1 6 6 

Distance between horns taken at their roots 2 1 

Distances between their terminal i^oints 1 9 9 

Width of horns at their roots 2 1 

Length of tail, including the hair 9 9 

Height of anterior part of the body 2 2 4 

Height of posterior part of the body 2 2 2 

The point of inquiry most strictly pertinent to the objects of this soci- 
ety, and one at the same time eminently practical, as indicating the laws 
which govern the reiiroduction of this animal, thus illustrating the rela- 
tions of pure science with utilitarian ends, is the determination of the 
specific source of the Angora goat. 

The i^oi^idar opinion as to the origin of this species is founded upon 
the authority of Cuvier, who mentions but three species of the genus 
Capra — Capra cegagrnSy Capra ibex^ Capra caucasica. He says: '^Capra 
ccgcujrus appears to be the stock of all the varieties of domestio goatj" 
adding that they vary infinitely in size and color, in the length and fine- 
ness of the hair, in the size of the horns, and even in the number j the 
Angora goats of Cappadocia having the largest and most silky hair.^ 

The more recent researches of zoologists have greatly developed the 
knowledge of this genus. Instead of three only there are now recog- 
nized nine species of mid goats, which are divided into two groups based 
upon the form of the horns : 

r Capra ibex. 
Capra hispanica. 

1. Group with horns flat in front, having a hori- Capra pyrenaica. 



^Bulletin de la Societe Imperiale d' Acclimatation, t. ii., pp. 316-18. 
2 Animal Kingdom, McMurtrie's Translation, vol. i., p. 198. 



84 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

zoiital triangular section, and furnished witli large <J Cai)ra caucasica. 
transversal knots. Capra sibirica. 

Capra Walei. 
L Caju^a Beden. 

2. Group mth horns compressed and carinated in i Capra Falconeri. 
front. \ Capra segagTUS.^ 

The so-called goat of the Rocky mountains is removed by Professor 
Baird from the genus Cajyra, where it was formerly i>laced by him under 
the designation of Capra Americana^ mountain goat. He says in the 
description of Apoceriis montanuSj contained in his Report of the Zoology 
of the Pacific Raihoad Routes: "The figures and descrix^tion of the skull 
and other bones of this species by Dr.Richardson show very clearly that the 
affinities are much more with the antelopes than ^^dth the goats or sheep. 

^ Essai sur les Chevres par M. Sacc. Bulletin supr. cit., t. iii., pp. 519, 561 ; t. iv., p. 3 
Giebel. 

Note. — The Cashmere Goat. — The only goat besides the Angora which is strictly lani- 
gerous is the Cashmere or Thibetian goat, which abounds in central Asia, but whose origin 
is still obscure; although it has, according to Brandt, affinities with the Angora race. The 
size of the Cashmere goat is quite large; the horns are flattened, straight and black, and 
slightly divergent at the extremities. The ears are large, flat, and pendent. The primary 
half, which is long, silky, and lustrous, is divided upon the back, and falls down upon the 
flanks in wavy masses. Beneath this hair there is developed in the autumn a short and 
exceedingly fine wool, from which the famous Cashmere shawls are fabricated. The enor- 
mous price of these shawls when extensively introdirced into France at the commencement 
of the present century, as high as 10,000 or 12,000 francs, stimulated the French fabricants 
to emulate the Indian tissues. The first yarns from Cashmere wool were spun in 1815, and 
the high numbers were worth eight dollars per pound. The peculiar Indian texture called 
"Espouline" was perfectly achieved ; and the success in this manufacture was hailed as the 
most brilliant triumph of the textile industry of France. Under the patronage of Monsieur, 
afterwards Charles X, in 1819 a great number of these goats Avere imported from Thibet, as 
many as 400 being introduced by one manufacturer, Baron Ternaux, and much enthusiasm 
was excited in their culture. Experience, however, proved that these goats yielded but little 
milk, and that the raw wool or down produced from an individual never exceeded 108 
grams, usually much less, which it was very difficult to separate from the coarse hairs, 
"yarre," and yielded not more than 25 per cent, of material which could be woven. The 
manufacturer also discovered, although they had overcome all the mechanical difficulties of 
fabrication, that the raw material, expensive as it was, formed not more than one-tenth of 
the cost of a shawl; that the Indian weaver worked for one-fifth the wages of a French 
workman, and that the ladies of fashion would pay double price for an Indian shawl, inferior 
in color, design, and texture to the French fabric. The manufacture, which employed 4,000 
workmen in 1834, began to decline in 1840; and, although an occasional fabric may still be 
made, the manufacture has now ceased as a regular industry. The demand for the wool 
ceasing, the Cashmere goats became absorbed in the common race, and there is at present 
but a single flock of pure blood in Europe ; the one preserved is the remarkable collection of 
domestic amimals possessed by the King of Wurtemberg. There is reason to believe that 
the culture of the Cashmere goat will never be revived in Europe as a matter of profit, since 
a perfect substitute for the Cashmere down is found in the silky fleece of the new Mauchamps 
sheep, which is declared to be fully as brilliant and fully as soft as the product of the Cash- 
mere goat, while it costs less as a raw material, and requires less manipulation to be trans- 
formed into .yarn. (Sacc, sur les Chevres. Bulletin supr. cit., t. iv., p. 48. Industrie des 
chales. Travaux de la Commission Fran9ais, p. 10. Bernoville, Industrie des laines Peignees , 
p. IGl.) 



I 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 85 

In fact, none of tlie more modern systematic writers place it in the genus 
Capra, or, indeed, in tlie ovine group. The mere general resemblance, 
externally, to a goat is a matter of little consequence ; indeed, its body 
is much more like that of a merino sheej). The soft, silvery, under hairs 
are very different from those of a goat, as well as the jet black horns, 
which are without any ridges, and smooth and highly polished at the 
extremities."^ 

The more recent investigations have shown that the animals referred 
to, and figured by G. Cuvier and F. Cuvier as types of the Capra cegagrus 
or Paseng, and said to occur both in Persia and on the Alps, were domes- 
tic goats which had become wild. Later researches have determined the 
true characteristic of Capra cegagrus^ a species formed by Pallas from a 
cranium only, received by Gmelin from the mountains of the north of 
Persia, and have shoAATi that naturalists had adopted this species as the 
source of the domestic goat Avithout resting the assertion upon any i>roof. 
The comparison by M. Brandt in 1848 of a collection of skulls and horns 
obtained by M. Tchihatcheff in the Cappadocian Taiu'us, with the original 
cranium which served Pallas for the type of his species, has enabled that 
naturalist, for the first time, to demonstrate i^ositively the derivation of 
our domestic goat from Capra mjagrus. M. Brandt asserts that it results 
from his labors that this species ''is incontestably and exclusively the 
soiuxe of the domestic goat of Europe," and gives the foUoAving argu- 
ments in support of this assertion: 

1. ''The Capra cegagrus has all the exterior forms and all the propor- 
tions of the domestic goat." 

2. "It resembles it very much in the general as well as local distribu- 
tion of its colors." 

3. " It approaches the domestic goat more than any other species in 
the configiu'ation of its horns, a configiu'ation which plays so important 
a part in the characteristics of the Avild species." 

4. "It i)resents the same agreement Avith the domestic goat in respect 
to the cranium. Finally , it is found in the mountains of the countries, 
especially Mesopotamia, inhabited by the people of antiquity, (the Isra- 
elites, Assyrians, &c.,) which have fm^nished the most ancient informa- 
tion respecting the raising of the goat."^ 

The establishment of the perfect identity of the domestic goat with a 
wild species is a negatiA^e argument of much force for the exclusion from 
the same source of an animal so widely differing as the Angora goat. A 
positive argument of equal weight is the recent observation that the 
Angora goat more nearly resembles another Avild species lately discov- 
ered. This species, the Capra Falconcri, is found upon all the mountains 
of Little Thibet, and upon the high mountains situated betAveen the Indus, 
the Badukshan, and the Indo Kusch. It resembles greatly the domestic 

1 Vol. vii, p. 672. '~~^ ^~ 

2 Considerations sur la Capra segagrus de Pallas, souclie de la Chevre domestique, par. J. 
F. Brandt. Bulletin siipr. cit., t. ii, p. 565. 



86 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

goat, from wliicli it differs principally in its magnificent lioms, wliicli, 
near together at the base, are at first arched backwards, and then turn 
in a spiral inwards, and then over again ontAvards. They are strongly 
compressed, triangnlar and free fr^om knots; their internal face, at first 
plane, is roimded higher np, Avliilst their external face is everywhere con- 
vex. Althongh there does not appear to be a development of fleece in 
this wild species corresponding to that of the Angora goat, M. Sacc, 
l)rofessor in the facnlty of sciences at Xenchatel, who has made a special 
study of the goats, does not hesitate to declare that ''all the characters 
of this species seem to indicate that it is the source of the beautiftil and 
precious Angora goat, whose horns are spirally turned like those of Fal- 
coner's goat." M. Brandt intimates that the domestication of other wild 
species than Capra cvgagrus and perhaps the Capra FaJconeri had pro- 
duced the Angora goat. Geoffrey St. Hilaire, the highest authority upon 
the origin of domestic animals, refers to the opinions of M. Sacc and M. 
Brandt Avithout dissent, thus: ''He (M. Brandt) is led especially to see 
in the Angora goat, produced, according to Pallas, by the cross of the 
sheep with the goat, an issue of the Capr a Falconer l ; this opinion is also 
admitted by our learned confrere, M. Sacc."^ 

The hj'x^othesis that the Angora goat is descended from Falconer's 
goat is rendered probable by the diffusion of the former around the moun- 
tains of Thibet, where Falconer's goat abounds, and CA'en beyond the 
central plains of Asia from Armenia to Chinese Tartary, where its wool 
is manufactm^ed, or exported in a natural state by the port of Shanghae. 
Angora wool, or mohair, was exhibited at the London Exhibition of 1862 
among the Eussian in^oducts, as proceeding from the country of the Kal- 
mucks of the Don, situated between the Black and Caspian seas. This 
species is thus seen to be diffused, although it may be sparingly, over 
the whole surface of Asia. 

That this goat is at present more abundant in the country about 
Angora in Asia Minor, near the habitat of the Capra cvgagrus and dis- 
tant many thousand miles from Thibet, may seem opposed to its deriA^a- 
tion from the Thibetian species. The learned memoir of the Eussian 
traveller, M. Tchihatcheff', ^ establishes beyond question the compara- 
tively recent introduction of the Angora goat into Asia Minor. He has 
shoAvn that among the countries of classic antiquity there is no one which 
the ancient Avriters haA e mentioned more frequentlj^ and under more 
varied aspects than Asia Minor, because this country was not oidy one 
of the foci of the Greek civilization, but also the native country of a great 
number of the most celebrated Avriters of antiquity, such as Herodotus, 
Homer, Strabo, Dion of Halicarnassus, Galen, &c. Hence in all that 
concerns the natural history of Asia Minor, the Avritings of these authors 
have an especial interest, while their silence has the value of a negatiA'e 
argument. Eeferring to the Avritings anterior to the classic period, Ave 

^ Sur les origines des animaux doniestiques. Bulletin supv. cit., t. vi, p. 503. 
'^Considerations sur la chevre d'Angora. Bulletin supr. cit., t. ii, p. 411. 



I 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 87 

find ill the most ancient and venerable of historic monninents, the Bibk^, 
that the goat is frequently mentioned among the domestic animals Avliich 
constituted the riches of the first i)atriarclis. Yet there is nothing in 
these notices which leads us to suppose that they were possessed of a 
race with fine and white wool. The beautiful comparison in the Song of 
Solomon which might seem to suggest the existence of a choice race of 
these animals, '' Thy hair is as a flock of goats that ajipear from Mount 
Gilead," taken in connection with the verse following, " Thy teeth are 
like a flock of sheep that are shorn, which came up from the washing," 
woidd seem to intimate that the color was referred to by the poet as the 
point of resemblance ; Avhile the first comi^arison, to be flattering to youth- 
ful beauty, must imply that the color was black and not white. 

Coming do\ra to the Greek authors — Homer and Hesiod, though fre- 
quently mentioning the goat as a domestic animal, make no allusion to 
any particular race, ^liaii, referring to the goats of Lycia and the prac- 
tice of shearing them like sheep, says that the wool is used for cords and 
cables. Api)ian mentions the stuft's known under the name of A'tXcxca 
from Cilicia, the ancient name of the country in which Angora is situ- 
ated, as a means of protection against projectiles ; implying that the tis- 
sues of the goats of Cilicia were not distinguished for their fineness. 
Yirgil gives the wool of the goat no other destination than to serve for 
the necessities of the camp and for the use of poor sailors : 

"Usum in castrorum et miseris velamina nautis." 

Columella, the great writer on Eoman agricidture, quotes this line of 
Yirgil as applicable to the covering of goats, and while tracing the (pial- 
ities which a perfect animal shoidd possess, excludes all resemblance to 
the Angora goat by demanding that the hair should be black. Strabo, 
born in the town of Amasia, very near the present domain of the Angora 
goat, makes no mention of goats of that country distinguished for their 
fleeces, although he remarks upon the different races of tine wooled sheep 
found in many places in Asia Minor. The author whom I am following 
observes that the most careful research among the Byzantine writers, 
after the Roman possessions became the patrimony of a barbarous people, 
has not aftbrded the least indication of a fine and white Avooled goat. It 
was not until the year 1555 that the Angora goat was distinctly made 
known through the Father Belon, who had travelled in Asia Minor, by 
a brief but sufficiently characteristic description. The silence of the 
classic authors in respect to any goat with fine and white fleece would 
seem to plac« it beyond doubt that the progenitors of this animal were 
introduced into Asia Elinor at a comparatively recent period, when the 
country Avas invaded by barbarous and pastoral races, either Turks or 
Arabs. M. Tchihatcheff observes that the Arabs have never formed 
stable establishments in Asia Minor, Avliile the Turkish race is the only 
one among the modern invaders of that country which came in search 
of a permanent home and has i)referred it unto this day. He shows 
that two branches of the Turkish race, the Suldjeks and the Oghus, sue- 



88 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

cessively installed themselves in Asia Minor in the eleventh and thir- 
teenth centuries, taking possession of the precise region in which Angora 
is included, and which their descendants still occupy. Immediately pre- 
vious to their immigration they had occupied the vast plains of Khoras- 
san and Bokara, and still more anciently, according to the most cele- 
brated orientalists and geographers, the country on the southern borders 
of Siberia and the mountains of the Altai chain. It appears thus to be 
not imi^robable that a race of animals, originating in Central Asia, whose 
representative still exists in the Cajn'a Falconer i^ should have been car- 
ried by the migration of pastoral tribes to the region in which they are 
now found in the modified form of the Angora goat. This hj7:)othesis is 
supported by the statement of the President de la Tour d'Aigues, prob- 
ably- derived from the Turkish shepherds who accompanied the flock 
introduced by him into Europe in 1787, that '' there is a constant tra- 
dition that the goats of Angora did not originate in that country, but 
were derived from Central Asia." ^ 

Although the origin of the Angora goat from Falconer's goat is not 
demonstrated by proofs as positive as those which support the deriva- 
tion of the common goat from Capra cegagrus, they are not less positive 
than those which formerly led all naturalists to attribute the paternity 
of the common goat to that species. The absolute knoAvledge of the 
progenitor of the Angora goat is of less practical importance than the 
demonstration of a specific difference between the two races. That the 
Angora goat constitutes a particular race, and is not due to the same 
origin as the common goat, seems established by the folloAving consid- 
erations : 

1. There is an esseutial difference in the horns of the two races, those 
of the Angora race being twisted spirally, a configuration wholly want- 
ing in the common race, the form of the horns being recognized by mod- 
ern systematic writers as the basis of the classification of the family 
Caviconiia, or ruminants with horns permanent, hoUow, and enclosing a 
X^iece of the frontal bone. 

2. Tlie mammillarj^ organs are hemispherical, while they are elongated 
in the common species. 

3. The very long woolly hair, hanging in corkscrew ringlets, fine, white 
and lustrous as silk, covering the short and harsh hair properly so called, 
which lies upon the skin, is in striking contrast with the short and coarser 
external hair of the common goat with its finer interior hair or doT\Ti. 

4. The cry, wholly different from that of the common go,at, resembles 
that of sheep. 

5. Tlie milk is more fatty ; the odor of the male less strong and disa- 
greeable. 

C. The Angora, like the common goat, is fattened as readily as the 
sheep, and the flesh is exceedingly palatable. 

7. The specific diflerence is finally established by the character of the 
crosses, a point to be referred to hereafter with more detail. 

^Sacc, Essai sur les Ch^vres. Bulletiu supr. cit., t. iv, p. 6. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 89 

The theory of the ditfereuce of species in these two races is not invali- 
dated by the fertility of the products of their crosses ; such fertility hav- 
ing been observed in the mixed offspring of the more widely separated 
species, the horse and the ass. In this case it is well established tliat 
the he mule can generate and the she mule produce, such cases occurring 
in Spain and Italy, and more frequently in the West Indies and New 
Holland, i 

The practical deduction to be drawn from the separation of the two 
species is thus clearly stated by M. Sacc: ^' There is then no utility in 
creating flocks of the Angora for crossing Avith the ordinary goat. We 
must limit oiu-selves to preserving the species in entire i^urity and devote 
ourselves to imx)roving the race by itself, as has been done with the justly 
celebrated merinos of Eambouillet." ^ A leading object of this paper is 
to enforce the opinion of this sagacious and practical naturalist. 

Upon the introduction of the Angora goat into France in 1787, and 
more recently in 1855, the opinion was generally entertained that the 
principal benefit to be derived from the new race would result from the 
amelioration of the i)roducts of the common species. This opinion unfor- 
tunately prevails in this country. It is sanctioned by all the agricultural 
notices or essays which have been published respecting the new race, and 
is naturally fostered by importers and breeders to enhance the selling 
price of bucks. 

One of the earliest papers descriptive of this species which appeared in 
this country was published in the Patent Office Agricultural Eeport for 
1857,^ it being the abstract of a report ui)on the Cashmere goats, as they 
were caUed, in the possession of Mr. Kichard Peters, of Atlanta, Georgia, 
Avritten by the well-known naturalist. Dr. John Bachman, of Charleston, 
South Carolina. This excellent naturalist, rex)eating the vicAVS at that 
time entertained, says : ''The varieties of goats are equally numerous and 
equally varied in different countries. They are all of one species, the 
varieties mixing and multiplying into each other ad infiniinm. They all 
claim as their origin the common goat, Capra Mrcus, which it is admitted 
by nearly all reliable naturalists derives its parentage from the wild goat, 
Capra wgagrus^ that still exists on the Euroi^ean Alps.'* After referring 
to the diversity of color, aspect, and form, seen in the goats of Hindostan, 
Chinese Tartary, and Thibet, he says: ''In a Avord, they are all of one 
species, but under many varieties; breeds lia\^e become permanent, and 
some are infinitely more valuable than others." He gives the results of 
breeding the Angora with the common goat as shown in the flocks of Mr. 
Peters in the following language: "Familiar as we haA^e been through 
a long life Avith the changes produced by crosses among Aiirieties of 
domestic animals and poultry, there is one trait in these goats Avhich is 
more strongly dcA^eloped than in any other a ariety that we haA^e CA^er 

^ Lyell's Principles of Geology, vol ii, p. 423. 
2 Bui], g^pj. (.jt.^ t, v., p. 571. 

« P. 5G. 



90 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

known. We allude to the facility with which the young- of the cross 
between the male of the Asiatic goat and the female of the common goat 
assume all the characteristics of the former. It is exceedingly difficult 
to change a breed that has become permanent in any of our domestic 
varieties, whether it be that of horses, cattle, sheep, or hogs, into another 
variety by aid of the male of the latter. There is a tendency to run back 
into their original varieties. Hence the objection to mixed breeds. But 
in the i^rogeny of these Asiatic and common goats, nine-tenths of them 
exhibit the strongest tendency to adopt the characteristics of the male, 
and to elevate themselves into the higher and nobler grade, as if ashamed 
of their coarse, dingy hair, and musky aromatics, and desirous of wash- 
ing out the odorous perfume and putting on the white livery of the more 
respectable race." Speaking of the Angora goat, Mr. Israel S. Diehl, who 
has contributed a pai^er upon it of much research, and valuable for many 
original observations, says:^ ''This goat, though described as the Capra 
Angorensis, is only an improved variety of the Capra liirciis, or common 
domestic goat." He refers to numerous State agricultural societies and 
scientific and practical men to shoAv the value of the Angora goat and its 
fleece, ''and the facility with which it can be crossed and bred with the 
common goat, by which a flock can be readily raised and increased," 
adding, " almost all the progeny exhibit the strongest tendencies to the 
higher and nobler grades by assimilating themselves to the male and 
putting on the white livery of the more respectable, honored, and valued 
race." These views, widely circulated through the government agricul- 
tural rejiorts, have been accepted without question, and the eftbrts of 
breeders in this country have been largely wasted in vain eftbrts to pro- 
duce crosses which would have all the value of the pure race. 

To judge of the value and feasibility of such attemi)ts we must bear 
distinctly in view the precise economical residt to be sought for. It is 
obviously not primarily to obtain a breed of goats which shall be fit for 
the butcher. I^either is it to secure a breed which will furnish a merely 
tolerable fleece which would be sim^fly a substitute for the wool of the 
sheep. The object is to api)roi:>riate a race of animals which shall pro- 
duce a textile material adapted for certain defined purposes in the arts 
as distinct as silk, noble Saxony wool, or sea-island cotton j a material 
which is substitute for nothing else known, and has originated its own 
fabrics. The introduction of a race which fails to give this peculiar fibre 
would be no real acquisition, however amusing to the breeder and inter- 
esting to the physiologist the experiments in crossing might be.^ 

'■ Report of the Department of Agriculture for 1863, p. 216. 

2 The conviction is extending among intelligent wool growers in this country of the import- 
ance of preserving the varieties of woolly fibre, each in its own character, purity, and excel- 
lence, and free from that " mongrel type which will do for everything, but is not desirable for 
anything." At a meeting of the Ohio Wool Growers' Convention, January 7, 1867, "Mr. 
R. M. Montgomery moved that the true course in breeding sheep is to keep breeds entirely 
distinct and to endeavor to produce the best clothing of the best combing wools, which pro- 
position was unanimously agreed to." — U. S. Economist, January 25, 1868. 



I 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 91 

Laying aside tlie statements given in the agricultural reports, as of little 
value as testimony, because there is no matter in which even skilful 
flock breeders are so liable to be deceived as in the character and adap- 
tation of their fleeces, and because there is no evidence that the i^roductts 
of the crosses referred to have ever been subjected to the only conclusive 
test, that of spinning, let us consider the feasibility of i^roducing the 
typical fleece of the Angora goat by means of crosses, by reference to 
admitted i)hysiological principles, and the results in analogous cases. 
The illustrious naturalist, M. de Quatreftiges, who has recently' discussed, 
in his lectures at the Museum d'Histoire ^aturelle, and in the Revue des 
Deux Mondes,^ the i)rinciples which govern the formation of races, 
remarks that "there is one law in crossing which is constantly verified: 
each of the two authors tends to transmit to the products at the same 
time all its qualities good or bad." This tendency he admits is modified 
by the predominance, in one or the other, of the power of transmissibility. 
"When this power is equal in the two j)arents the i)roduct will have an 
equal mixture of the qualities of the parents ; there will be a i:>redomi- 
nance of the qualities of one where this i^ower of transmissibility is 
unequal. The inequality of the j)ower of transmissibility appears to be 
much greater when the races are nearest each other, for sometimes the 
crossing between such races gives a product which seems to belong- 
entirely to one of the two."^ He observes that it follows from these prin- 
ciples that nothing could be more irrational than to take animals of the 
half blood as regenerators to ameliorate a race; for not i^ossessing com- 
pletely the qualities which Ave seek, and ha\dng i>reserved a part of the 
bad which we wish to shun, they transmit a mixture of one, and besides, 
as they are necessarily of a formation more recent than the race to be 
regenerated, it will be the last one which will impress itself, if not upon 
the first, at least upon successive generations. These views are confirmed 
bv the recent observations of Professor Agassiz in Brazil on the eftects 
of crosses of races of men. He observes that the principal result at which 
he has arrived from the study of the mixture of human races in the region 
of Brazil is that "races bear themselves towards each other as all distinct 
species; that is to say, that the hjd^rids which spring from the crossing 
of men of different races are always a mixture of the two primitive types 
and never the sim^fle reproduction of the characters of one or the other 
progenitor." It is also remarked by the same high authority, that, "how- 
ever naturalists may differ respecting the origin of species, there is at 
least one point in which they agree, namely, that the offspring from two 
so-called different species is a being intermediate between them, shoAving 
the peculiar features of both parents, but resembling neither so closely as 
to be mistaken for a piu^e representative of the one or other." ^ 

^ Vide Revue des Deux Mondes, December 15, 1860, to April 14, 186L 
"Amelioration de I'espeee chevaline, Bull. supr. cit., t. viii, 1861, p. 257. 
3 A Journey in Brazil, by Professor and Mrs. L. Agassiz, pp. 296 and 338. 



92 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

The views of tlie eminent physiologists above quoted give no support 
to the poi^ular fallacy into which Dr. Bachman and Mr. Diehl seem to 
have fallen, that the male animal x>ossesses the greater i)ower of trans- 
mitting blood to his progeny. Dr. Eandall, in the cha^^ter upon the prin- 
cii)les of breeding in his '^ Practical Shepherd," while admitting that the 
ram much oftenest gives the leading characteristics of form, attributes 
the greater power of the ram to the sui^eriority of blood and superiority 
of individual vigor, as the ram is generally '' higher bred" than the ewes, 
even in full blood flocks. ^ 

If it be true as a physiological principle that the parents in widely 
separated races tend equally to transmit all their qualities, what hope is 
there of obtaining a valuable lanigerous animal from the crosses of goats 
so T\idely separated as to belong to different species ; especiallj' when 
the heavy coating of one is absolutely worthless, and nothing short of 
the peculiar qualities found in the other is worth seeking for ? All anal- 
ogy teaches that it is vain to exi:)ect to form a permanent race of any 
value from the crosses of such widely separated races. Dr. Eandall 
declares that " all attempts to form permanent intermediate varieties 
of value by crosses between the merino and any family of the mutton 
sheep mth the view of combining the special excellencies of each have 
ended in utter failure."^ The German breeders say that it is impossible 
to transform, by crossing, the common sheep into merinos. Even after 
nine generations the common type reappears as soon as the use of merino 
rams of the pure blood has ceased.^ It is for this reason that the Germans 
refuse to the highest bred grade any otlier designation than improved 
half breeds. ^ 

The constant use of regenerators of pui-e blooded Angoras, if they 
coidd be procured, which would soon be imi30ssible, from domestic sources, 
if the system of crossing should be persisted in, would be of little avail. 
In the Asiatic goat we have a perfect standard, as in the Arabian horse. 
Mr. Youatt says of the English races of the horse descended from the 
Godolphin Arabian, or the Darley Arabian and the blood mares of Charles 
I, " where one drop of common blood has mingled with the pure stream, it 
has been immediately detected in the inferiority of form and deficiency' 
of bottom."^ So, we may infer, will a drop of blood of the common goat 
detract from the lustre and fineness of fibre found in the piue Asiatic 
race. 

The elaborate article of Mr. Fleischman on German fine wool hus- 
bandry ^ gives the results of constantly regenerating bj^ the pure merino 
ram, the cross from the pure merino and common country' sheep. At 
the fourth generation the fleece consists of 25 per cent. 2)nma^ 50 per 
cent, secunda, and 25 per cent, tertia wool. The nature of the avooI is 

iPp. no, 111. ''Practical Shepherd, p. 127. 

2 The Practical Shepherd, p. 125. ^ Youatt on the Horse. 

3Sacc. Bull. supr. cit., t. v, p. 571. ^Patent Office Report, 1847, p. 253. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTUKES OF WOOL. 93 

still coarse. There are about 18,000 wool hairs in a square inch. In the 
tenth generation the fine wool i^redominates. A fleece yields from 60 to 
70 per cent, primaj 20 to 25 i^er cent, secunda, and 10 to 15 per cent. 
tertla wool. In the twentieth generation the fleece, by regular crossing 
and careful management, has 20 ^er cent, electa^ 50 per cent, prima, 20 
per cent, secunda, and 10 per cent, tertia wool. There will yet be some- 
times found sticltel or coarse hair. At this i^eriod 27,000 wool haiis grow 
upon a square inch. Thus even at the twentieth generation, with the 
constant use of regenerators of the inire blood, the wool falls short of the 
fineness of the original or x)erfectly pure blooded animal, which has from 
40,000 to 48,000 wool hairs on a square inch. These facts show how slow 
is the approach to fineness of fibre even in crosses of animals descended 
from a remote though common ancestor. 

Proceeding from analogy to direct e\adence as to the results of breed- 
ing the race under consideration by means of crossing with the common 
species, no person in Europe has examined the Angora goat so thoroughly 
and for so long a period as M. de la Tour d'Aigues, x)resident of the 
Royal Society of Agricidture of France, who, in 1787, introduced some 
hundreds of these goats into Euroi^e mider the care of Tiu-kish shepherds, 
and established them upon the low Alps, where they greatly prosi^ered. 
He affirms that even after the sixteenth generation the hair of the crosses 
obtained by crossing the Angora buck with females of the common goat 
remained hair, and although it was elongated it could not be si^un.^ 
"This species is," he says, "constant; and although they procreate with 
our goats we can never hope to multiply them by crossing the races, 
because the vice of the mother is never effaced. If some individuals 
approach, more or less, the race of the sire, the hair wiU always be shorter 
and too coarse to be worked."^ The testimony of this official head of 
the agriculture of France is of the highest value, not only because his 
position led him to seek the utmost advantage from the introduction of 
a new race, but because an elaborate memoir x^ublished by him shoAvs 
that he had made thorough exx)eriments in spinning and manufactimng 
the x>roducts of his fleeces, for which he gives minute directions. 

The observations of M. Brandt show that the thickness of the hair of 
the inire Angora goat is from a third to a half that of the common goat. 
This fineness of fibre is an essential spinning quality. The fibre of this 
si)ecies is always i^repared and spun in the form of worsted of long wool, 
that is, the fibre is not carded or subjected to a process by which the 
fibres are placed in every i^ossible direction in relation to each other, 
adhering by their serratures, but are drawn out by combing so that they 
may be straight and parallel, the ends of the fibre being covered in the 
process of spinning, so that the yarns, are smooth and lustrous. The 
fibres being extremely slii^pery they wiU not adhere in spinning unless 
they have the requisite fineness to permit many i)araUel fibres to be 

^ Saac Bull. supr. cit., t. v, p. 570. 
2 Sacc Bull, supra, cit., t. iv, p. 8. 



94 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

united in a yarn of a given number. Wlien the fibres are too large they 
require to be mixed with combing wool to ^^carr^'" the fibre, as it is tech- 
nically called, which diminishes the lustre of the fabric. Manufacturers 
of worsted, who have had large exi)erience in spinning the mohair of 
Asia and this country, inform me that the best mohair can be spun into 
yarns of the luimber 42, while others are with difficulty spun into yarns 
nund)ered from 10 to 16. Fibre of the latter quality is of no more value 
than the most ordinary combing wool, except for a few exceptional pur- 
l^oses, to be hereafter referred to. Lots of so-called Angora wool, doubt- 
less the products of recent crosses, offered in the market the present 
season, could be used only for carjiet filling, the lowest use of woolly fibre. 
Although the facts and reasoning given above leave no doubt upon 
my own miiul that the breeding from crossings of the common goat of 
this country should be abandoned, it is proper that I should state that 
hopes are still entertained in France of good results from breeding with 
the domestic goats of that country. M. Eichard, of Cantal, in a report 
made in 1862 upon the animals dex^osited by the Society of Acclimatation 
at the farm of Souliard, in the Cantal, says : '^ Crosses produced from the 
Angora and the ordinary goats of Auvergne have given products, which 
at the second generation much resemble those of pure blood ; and if the 
society should continue its exioeriments upon this subject, I think it will 
obtain some hai)py results. Nevertheless, to settle the opinion upon 
this point, it would be useful to study this practical question wherever 
the Angora goats have been dei^osited."^ The most that can be made 
of the opinion so cautiously expressed is that the system of crossing is 
still regarded in France as a proper subject of experiment. 

CULTURE IN THE REaiON OF ANGORA. 

Tlie culture of this species in the country of its greatest development 
next demands attention. Ami)le information upon this point is furnished 
by scientific travellers. The celebrated academician Tom^nefort, the 
master in botany of the illustrious Linnaeus, was the first to shed full 
light upon the ancient magnificence of Ancyra, the site of the present 
Angora, mentioned by Livy among the illustrious cities of the east. He 
refers to its most ancient people as having made even the kings of Syria 
their tributaries, while its later inhabitants were the principal Galatians, 
whom the Apostle Paul honored Tvith an epistle. He describes its monu- 
ment to Augustus, the most splendid in all Asia, upon which was 
inscribed in pure latin the life of the emperor, its streets abounding with 
pillars and old marbles mingled with porphyries and jaspers, its walls 
built up of ruins of architraves, bases and capitals, and its tombs cov- 
ered with Greek and Latin inscriptions, all attesting that this was one 
of the centres of the Eoman civilization, and making more significant 
the silence of contemporary authors before alluded to. But more interest- 
ing than the monuments of past splendors is the mention, first given 

1 Bulletin, supr. cit., t. ix, p. 8. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 95 

with any detail by tliis traveller, of the contribution to modern civiliza- 
tion made by the barbarians from Central Asia. I transcribe his lan- 
guage: 

''They breed the finest goats in the world in the champaign of Angora. 
They are of a dazzling white, and their hair, which is fine as silk, natur- 
ally ciu'led in locks of eight or nine inches long, is worked up into the 
finest stuffs, especially camlet. But they do not suffer these fleeces to 
be exported from this place, because the people of the country gain their 
livelihood thereby. * * * However it be, these fine goats are to be seen 
only within four or five day s' j ourney of Angora and Beibazar . Their young 
degenerate if they are carried fiuther. The thread made of this goat's 
hair is sold for from four livres to 12 or 15 livres the ocque. Some is 
sold for twenty and five-and- twenty crowns the ocque, but that is oidy made 
up into camlet for the use of the Sultan's seraglio. The workmen of Angora 
use this thread of goat's hair without any mixture, whereas at Brussels they 
are obliged to mix thread made of wool, for what reason I know uot. In 
England they use up this hair in their i^eriwigs, but it cannot be spun. * * * 
All this country is dry and bare except the orchards. The goats eat 
nothing except the young shoots of herbs, and perhai^s it is this which, 
as Brusbequis observes, contributes to the consummation of the beauty of 
their fleece, which is lost when they change their climate and i)asture."^ 

Interesting statements in relation to the culture of this species at 
Angora are given by Captain Conelly, an English traveller, in a paper 
read before the Asiatic Society, which I deem it unnecessary to repeat, 
as they are generally accessible in Mr. Southey's work on wool. ^ The 
most recent information is that given by the Eussian traveller before 
quoted, who devoted five years to the study of natiu-al history in Asia 
Minor, and M. Boidier (Pharmacien Aide Major) in a report of a mission 
to Asia Minor presented to the French minister of war. ^ The region 
marked out by the former of these scientific travellers, as the peculiar 
domain of the Angora goat, is situated between 39° 20' and 41o 30^ north 
latitude, and between 33° 20' and 35^ longitude east of Paris, a smface of 
about 2,350 metric leagues square, equivalent to about a fortj -fourth x)art 
of the surface of the peninsula of Asia Minor, and about the same frac- 
tion of the area of France. This country is more or less mountainous 
and furrowed by deep valleys, its mean altitude being estimated at 1,200 
metres ; while the more elevated masses are generally shaded with fine 
forests, the i^lateaus, Avhicli form a large x)art of the country, are very 
little wooded. The absence of trees, bushes, and arborescent plants gives 
the country the aspect of immense steppes. This nudity pernuts the 
first heats of the spring to dry up the little humidity which the earth 

^A Voyage into the Levant. By M. Tournefort, Chief Botanist to the French King. 

^Southey on Colonial Wools, p. 322 et seq. 

3 Vide Considerations sur la chevre d'Angora, par M. P. de Tchihatcheff, Bull. supr. cit., 
t. xi, p. 305. Sur la chevre d'Angora, par M. Boulier, Pharmacien Aide Major. Bull. 
supr. cit., t. xi, p. 557. 



96 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

has acquired in winter. The climate is excessive, the winters being very 
cokl, and tlie summers exceedingly liot. The country is covered witli 
snoAV in winter, the rain and snow being ^ery frequent, the thermometer 
in the neighborhood of Angora frequently descending to — 12^ — 15° 
— 18° of the Centigrade thermometer, corresponding to lO.Go, 5^, and 
zero Fahrenheit. 

The cold season continues, however, only three or four months. During 
the rest of the year the temperature is very liot, particularly in the A^al- 
leys, while the line days continue almost without interruption ; abundant 
pastiu'age is found for the white goats only after the frosts and snows, 
w^hen the first warm rains revive the vegetation. This time is of short 
duration, and the stimidus given by a copious and succulent nourishment 
is exerted wholly in developing the fleeces in length. The shearing, 
which takes place in April, is hardly concluded when the vegetation 
called forth by the warm spring is arrested, and receives no moisture 
from the dews, persons lying at night in the open air j&nding in the morn- 
ing no humidity upon their garments. This dryness, however, gives to 
the vegetation which flourishes, the only aliment to flocks during summer, 
an aromatic character which makes it peculiarly digestible and stimu- 
lating. 

The mineralogical character of the rocks which underlie the country- 
is generally feldspathic, the trachytic and serpentine rocks abounding. 
No peculiar mineralogical elements appear to be essential to the success- 
ful culture of this species, as M. Boulier observes that there is not the 
least sign of degeneracy in the fleeces of flocks grown upon calcareous 
or g3T3seous soils. The localization of this species in certain districts 
within the general domain assigned to it is quite remarkable, and ap- 
pears to be mainly determined by the altitude of the country, the flocks 
of the pure race being rarely distributed upon the most elevated dis- 
tricts, in the deep valleys or the neighborhood of the forests. This 
localization is doubtless encouraged by the native proprietors, who 
unanimously assert that this goat cannot be transi)orted from the place 
Avhere it is born to a neighboring village ^vithout sufifering a deteriora- 
tion of fleece. Even the intelligent travellers above referred to seem to 
partake of this opinion. Direct observations, however, in Europe and 
elsewhere, have shown that this apparent deterioration is oidy the effect 
of age, and not due to a change of place and climate or food. The finest 
fleece is found upon animals a year old, which is worth eleven francs the 
kilogram ; although somewhat less fine in the second year, it is quite 
good at the end of the fourth year, Avhen it is worth six francs the kilo- 
gram. At the end of the sixth year the fleece is positively bad, and 
at this period the animals are usually killed, their natural life being only 
nine or ten years. 

All authors agree that these animals, although able to resist both 
heat and cold except immediately after shearing, when they are liable to 
be destroyed by moderate depression of temperature, cannot withstand 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. • 97 

mucli hmnidity, either in tlieir pastures or folds. In a moist atmosphere 
they are especially subject to maladies of the respiratory organs, or a 
kind of pleuropneumonia. In severe winters, ^vhile the common goat 
of the country is unaffected, the mortahty among the goats of the pure 
race is frightfid. This is due largely to their confinement, when the 
temperature is 15° Centigrade, in very bad stables completely closed and 
unventilated, and to their noimshment upon fodder imperfectly dried, 
a very little barley only being given when the snow falls. The delicacy 
and lymphatic temperament of the white Angoras, which seem to be in- 
herent to this race, appear to be closely related to their color. Some 
physiologists see in the color and delicacy of this animal the evidence of 
an imi)erfect albinism. In the very interesting discussions of the Board 
of Agricidture of Massachusetts in 1807 many curious facts were stated, 
illustrating the relation of a Avhite color in animals with certain diseases 
and deficiencies ; for instance, that white horses are subject to diseases 
to which black or red horses are not. Prof. Agassiz expressed the opin- 
ion that change of color in animals must be the result of some general 
change in the system, and if it is not shown in the eyes it will be shown 
in something else, the light color being a kind of bleaching of those 
darker tints which are connected with the qualities of the blood, indi- 
cating a certain feebleness of the system." These views are pecidiarly 
interesting when taken in connection with the facts stated by M. Boulier 
as to the manner in which the losses above referred to are repaired. 
The fact had already been stated by M. Tchihatcheff, that when the 
losses are very considerable, the people of the country repair them by 
crossing the Angora with the common goats, and that the purity of the 
race is regained in the third generation. This statement was regarded 
in France as conclusive as to the expediency of crossing mth the com- 
mon goats of France, untU the statements which follow were i)ublished. 
M. Boulier shows that the goats referred to as common in Asia are of 
the same species as those of the i:>ure Angora race, from which they dif- 
fer only in their color and size. The variety which is spread everyT\^here 
in Asia Minor, ni)on all soils and at all altitudes, is the black or Kiud 
race. The variety confined to the narrow limit is the ichife race. ^'The 
one and the other,'' he says, ''have long fleeces. Their general forms 
resemble each other. The black goat is only of a size about a filth larger 
than the white goat. The weight of the fleece of the black race varies 
between three and four ocques (3 kil. 750 to 5 kil.) The hair, black, 
straight, and without undulation, reaches a length of 0.27 m. * # * 
The length of the locks of the white race reach 0.25 m., and the weight 
of the best fleece two ocques (2 kil. 500.") M. Boulier cites two exam- 
ples to show that the introduction of the white female goats into the 
country where they have not previously existed is not regarded by the 
natives as the most simifle and rapid means of acquiring the more 
precious race. '' Seventy years ago, at Zchiftela Gentchibe Yallaci, the 
natives possessed no white goats. Since that period they have crossed 
7 w 



98 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

tlie black female goats of tlie village with tlie buck of tlie white race^ 
and at present there are not less than eight thousand goats of the latter 
race upon the territory of that district. We have examined the flocks, 
and the fleeces are in no respect inferior to any of those which we have 
seen elsewhere. It is now established in respect to these new genera- 
tions tlmt after three years of experience the newly crossed race has not 
degenerated ; it is distinctly established, since for a long time the re- 
generators are taken from the flocks themselves. At Sidi Ghazi the 
crossing by the same procedure has been commenced within only six 
years. The flocks are magnificent." The effects of the crossing in the 
successive generations are thus detailed : 

'^1. The cross of a black female goat with a white buck will i^resent a 
fleece marbled with a yellow color upon an imi)ure white foundation. 
The flanks, the shoulders, and the head will preserve more particularly 
the marks of the color of the mother ; the fineness of the fleece will be 
sensibly ameliorated. 

*' 2. The cross of this first product with a white buck will cause all 
the dark tints to disappear. The fleece will become white. The 
shoulders and the flanks will be covered with Avavy ringlets ; but the 
whole line of the back and the forehead will remain furnished with 
coarse, straight hairs. 

^'3. On coupling this new cross always with a buck of the -pure race 
we shall obtain a greater fineness in the long ringlets of the flanks and 
shoulders ; the dorso-lumbar portion of the vertebral column will no 
longer retain coarse hairs, which will remain still on the ui)per x^art of 
the neck and forehead. 

^^4. A fourth cross, carried on with the same precautions as before, will 
fix a stamp of purity to the i)roduct; the coarse hairs wiU have disap- 
peared on the forehead and neck. 

^^5. The consecutive crossings will render more stable the modifications 
akeady formed, and already after the fifth generation the individuals 
win be able to reproduce as if they were of the pure blood." ^ 

An infallible proof of fineness not mentioned by M. Boidier is insisted 
ui)on by other writers, viz., the curling of the wool, Avhich is observed 
upon the young individuals only when they are of the i^iu^e blood, so 
that all the young bucks are rejected from the flocks with the utmost 
care, as not being of the pure race, whose wool is not curled. 

It is not to be denied that further observations are greatly to be 
desired in confirmation of the observations of M. Boulier. They are, 
however, referred to by M. Sacc as both ^^ skilful and conscientious," 

1 liuU. supr. cit., t. V, p. 168. The facts stated by M. Boulier may seem inconsistent 
Avitli tlie views elsewhere presented in this article as to the slowness of improvement by 
crossing. The identity of species in the black and white race is not settled by this natu- 
ralist. The power of deviation within wide limits may be a characteristic of this species in 
domestication; and these facts, to use the language of Professor Agassiz in relation to 
deviations of sjjecies, may " only point out the range of flexibility in types which in their 
essence are invaiiable." (A Journey in Brazil, p. 42.) 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 99 

and are relied upon by the latter naturalist as establisliing' the identity 
of the species of the black Kurd and white Angora race, and they are 
quoted \yith approbation by M. Beniis, princii)al veterinary surgeon of 
the army of Africa. This identity seems confirmed by the observations 
of M. Diehl, who has x^ersonally visited Angora. ''There is also a sec- 
ond or other variety of Angora or shawl- wool goat, besides those gener- 
ally described. This goat has an michanging outer cover of long coarse 
hair, between the roots of which comes in winter an undercoat of do^\aiy 
wool that is naturally thrown off in spring or is carefully combed out for 
use. A remarkably fine species of this breed exists throughout the area 
to whicli tlie white-haired goat is limited." 

The number of goats of the white race grown in the district of Angora 
is estimated by M. Sacc and others at 300,000, and the i^roduct in avooI 
(called tiftik by the natives, and mohair in England) at 2,000,000 pounds. 
The English tables of Turkish exports make the product in 1867 a little 
over 4,000,000 x^ounds. Formerly the wools of Angora Avere wholly spun 
or woven in place, and were ex^^orted in the form of yarns or candets, of 
which tlie city of Angora sold, in 1844, 35,000 pieces to Europe. The 
exportation of the wool was prohibited, through the same wise policy 
which enabled England, by its monopoly of the combing avooIs, to build 
up its stupendous Avorsted manufacture. Some 1,200 looms were em- 
ployed. The natiA^es displayed great skill in making gloA^es, hosiery, 
and camlets for exportation, and summer robes of great beauty for the 
Turkish grandees.^ The town flourished, and the whole i)oi)ulation was 
busy and hajjpy in the i^ursuit of their beautiful industry. After the 
Greek rcA^olution the Turkish government Avas tempted by British influ- 
ence to admit, free of duty, the xiroducts of European machinery, and 
to i^ermit tlie export of the raw tiftik. This fatal stej) Avas the death- 
blow of the toAvn of Angora. The whole i^roduct, Avith the exception of 
20,000 pounds only, still Avorked up at home, was exported to England. 
The looms emi)loyed were reduced from 1,200 to not more than 50; and 
the toAvn, although haAing at its command the raAV material for a most 
important and characteristic manufacture, offers in its sad decline another 
moniunent of the desolating influence of that system which would make 
the raw material of every country tributary to the one gTeat workshop 
of the Avorld. 

RESULTS OF EXPERBIENTS IN ACCLENIATION IN EUROPE AND THE 

UNITED STATES. 

The attention of i^hilanthropic agiiculturists in Europe was draAAii to 
this race in the last century. The first attempt to appropriate the race 
in Europe was made by the Spanish government, which imi)orted a flock 
in 1705, which has disappeared, ^ext foUoAAcd the imjiortation of the 
President Tour d'Aigues, Avho introduced some hundred upon the Low 
Alps in 1787. This experiment of acclimation appears to liaA'e been 

^ Southey on Colonial Wools. 



100 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITIOX. 

wholly successful, as this eminent agriculturist declares that although 
his flocks received no special care, they were constantly preserved in 
good health, and accommodated themselves as well to the climate as to 
the pasturage. ^^I can attest," he says, "that nothing is easier than to 
raise and nourish the species; they are led to the pastures with the 
sheep, and are fed like them in winter." Towards the end of the last 
century Louis XVI imported a flock of Angoras to Rambouillet; but 
this, as well as the flocks of Tour d'Aigues, disapi)eared in consequence 
of the revolution. The best results were obtained in Spain from the 
imi:>ortation of a flock of 100 in 1830 by the King of Spain. M. Graells 
reports that this flock was transported to the mountains of the Escm*ial, 
where, he says, "I had occasion to see them for the first time in 1848, 
that is to say, 18 years after their entry into Castile. At this time the 
flock was composed of 200 individuals, almost all Avhite. The males had 
a magnificent fleece. The shepherds told me that all the x)rimitive indi- 
viduals had disappeared, and that those which lived were born in the 
country, and that they could be regarded as natiu-alized to the climate, 
the food, and other inherent conditions of the central region of Spain. 
At Huelva there is another flock of Angora goats, comj^osed of 100 
head, and from the information I have obtained it prospers very weU in 
the mountainous region of that province." ^ The above extract is instruct- 
ive, as showing the slowness with which this race is multiplied, the i^rim- 
itive flock having tripled only in 18 years. 

In 1851, the Imperial Society of Acclimation of France resolved upon 
vigorous efforts to appropriate this race. In 1855 it was in possession of 
a flock of 92 head. This flock was subdivided and placed in diflerent 
districts in France. But the success was far from encomia ging. Many 
died, and those which survived gave fleeces which were far from satis- 
factory. In 1858, all the separate flocks were reunited and placed at 
Souliard in the mountainous and trachytic district of the Cantal. The 
animals rapidly recovered their health, and were increased Avithout suf- 
fering any malady. The fleeces were in an admirable condition, and 
were fabricated into velvets of such fineness and lustre that it was pro- 
nounced that ''the wool of the Angora goat has been ameliorated in 
France." The increase of this flock Avas disastrously checked by the 
rigorous Avinter of 1859, and the rainy and damp summer which suc- 
ceeded. ''The abundant snows of the winter," says M. Eichard, "pre- 
vented on the one hand the goats from issuing from their stable; the 
stabulation faA^ored in them a predominance of the lymphatic system. 
On the other hand the showers and the incessant rains of the spring 
continued during the whole summer. The goats, ahvays in a damp 
atmosphere, eating wet gTass, contracted as well as the sheep an aque- 
ous cachexy; a third of the animals succumbed from this malady. If 
energetic means had not been employed ui>on the first symptom of the 
iuA^asion of the aftection which was decimating the flock, it is A^ery prob- 

^ Rapport de M. Ramen de la Sagra. Bull. supr. cit., t. i, p. 23. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTUKES OF WOOL. 101 

able that few Avoiild liave survived. The malady was arrested by a tonic 
and fortifying- medication." The tiock, reduced from \)'2 head in 1855 to 
70 in 18G2, was at the latter i^eriod in good health. ^ 

The experience in France, although by no means encouraging in all 
respects, is instructive as indicating the principal cause of the destruction 
of the flocks, exposiu*e to a damp climate. The excessive climate of the 
middle and northern districts of this country, tlie cold winters and warm 
dry summers, would seem to indicate these districts as most favorable to 
the acclimation of this species. Experience has fully confirmed what 
might have been assumed a priori. The first importation Avas made in 
1849, by Dr. J. B. Da\is, of eight Angora goats, tvvo bucks and six females. 
The facts relative to subsequent importations and their residts are given 
in the elaborate article of Mr. Diehl, which, being readily accessible in 
the widely circulated Agricultural Keport of 1863, 1 need oidy briefly refer 
to. Mr. Diehl gives the results of his observation of most of the flocks, 
proceeding from some 300 head imported from Angora, numbering, 
according to him, several thousand, and scattered mainly through the 
southwestern States, as follows: 

''We have either i)ersonaUy visited and examined most of the locali- 
ties and flocks (mentioned by him,) seen or obtained animals or speci- 
mens of the wool, comi>aring them with what we saw abroad and the 
best specimens of wool to be obtained from abroad, or the best imported 
ones, and are well satisfied and thoroughly convinced that Ave have suc- 
ceeded, and can continue to succeed, in raising this a aluable wool-bearing 
animal, with its precious fleece, almost anywhere throughout our country 
where sheep Avill prosper, especially in the higher and colder localities, 
producing an animal more hardy, Avith a lieaA y and more a aluable fleece 
than the Angora or Cashmere itself in its oaa'ii country. The specimens 
of Avool in our possession are more silky and fleecy than the imi)oi'ted or 
original ones." M. Diehl giA^es extracts from original communications of 
practical stock raisers confirmatory of his statements. It is to be regxet- 
ted that the A^alue of these observations is diminished by the Avant of 
accurate discrimination between the products of the crosses and animals 
of pure blood. ^ 

' Sur les animaux de la Soci^te d'Accliniation, par M. Richard (du Cantal,) t. ix, p. 5. 

^Of the recent importations of Ang^nras into this country the most considerable have been 
made by M. Winthrop W. Chenery, of Belmont, Massachusetts, (office 196 State street, 
Boston,) who has made arrangements for this purpose with a commercial house havino" a 
branch in Constantinople and a contidential agent in the district of Angora. Mr. Chenery, 
who is an experienced stock breeder, has imported about 300 animals of this race, and has at 
present 80 or dO imported animals upon his farm at Belmont, which are for sale. The first 
Angoras sent to California were imported by Mr. Chenery, 26 full-blooded animals having 
been introduced by him into that State. The experience of Mr. Chenery and the excellent 
condition of his flock, which I have visited, are conclusive as to the successful acclimation of 
this race in this country. The first animals under his charge were placed upon his farm by 
an agent of Dr. Peters, of Georgia, at the breaking out of the rebellion. These animals 
having been sheared under the direction of the agents of Dr. Peters, were immediately 
exposed to cold easterly winds, and several became affected by a pulmonary disease and died. 



102 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 



APPLICATION OF PRODUCTS. 



It lias been already stated that luobair is not a substitute for wool, bnt 
that it o(*cni)ies its own place in the textile fabrics. It has the aspect, 
feel and lustre of silk without its suppleness. It differs materially from 
wool in the want of the felting- quality, so that the stuffs made of it have 
the fibres distinctly separated and are always briUiant. They do not 
retain the dust or spots, and are thus particularly valuable for furniture 
goods. The fibre is dyed with great facility' and is the only textile fibre 
which takes equally the dyes destined for all tissues. On account of the 
stiffness of the fibre it is rarely woven alone j that is, when used for the 
filling, the warp is usually of cotton, silk, or wool, and the reverse. It 
is not desired for its softness in addition to silkiness, such qualities as 
are found in Cashmere and Mauchamp avooI, but for the elasticity, lustre, 
and diu'ability of the fibre, with sufficient fineness to enable it to be spim. 
Those who remember the fashions of 30 or 40 years ago may call to mind 
the camlets so extensively used for cloaks and other outer garments, and 
will doubtless remember that some were distinguished for their peculiar 
lustre and durability, which was generally attributed to the presence of 
silk in the tissue. These camlets were woven from mohair. Its lustre 
and durability peculiarly fit this material for the manufacture of braids, 
buttons, and bindings, which gTeatly outwear those of silk and wool. 
The qualities of lustre and elasticity particularly fit this material for its 
chief use, the manufocture of Utrecht velvets, commonly called fiu-niture 
plush, the finest qualities of which are composed principally of mohair, 
the pile being formed of mohair warps, which are cut in the same man- 
ner as silk warps in velvets. Upon passing the finger lightly over the 
surface of the best mohair plushes, the rigidity and elasticity of the fibre 
will be distinctly perceived. The fibre springs back to its original upright- 
ness when any jiressure is removed. The best mohair plushes are almost 
indestructible. They have been in constant use on certain railroad ears 

Mr. Cheneiy by proper precautions has since preserved his flock in perfect health. A warm 
but ventilated shelter is provided, to which the animals have access summer and winter. 
In a flock of nearly a hundred, not one has died for a year. Mr. Chenery regards these 
goats as more hardy than sheep. They are fed in the same manner as sheep, with the excep- 
tion that white-pine boughs are occasionally given them to brouse upon during the winter. 
They delight in rocky and bushy pastures, feeding eagerly upon barberry and raspberry 
bushes. They cannot be confined by ordinary stone walls, but are restrained by any fence 
which tliey cannot climb, as they do not jump. They are herded and driven more easily than 
sheep. The doe never produces more than one kid at a birth. The young demand atten- 
tion when tliey are first dropped, as they are liable to chill. After they have once suckled 
there is no further trouble. Although quite small at birth, they grow with great rapidity. 
The average product of fleece is, for bucks, seven, eight, and sometimes as high as 12 pounds. 
The does produce from three to five pounds. Mr. Chenery states in illustration of the hardi- 
ness of this race, that seven animals sent round Cape Horn were six mouths upon the voy- 
age, and all arrived at their destination in good healtli. It is stated that if there should be a 
sufficient demand for these animals there would be no difficulty in increasing the importa- 
tions to some thousands per year. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 103 

in tlie country for over 20 years without wearing out. They are now 
sought by all the best railroads in the country as the most enduring of 
all coverings, an unconscious tribute to the remarkable qualities of this 
fibre. The manufacture of Utrecht velvets at Amiens in France con- 
sumes 500,000 pounds of mohair, which is spun in England. Ten thou- 
sand workmen were employed in wea\dng these goods at Amiens in 1855, 
the product being principally sent to the United States. The moliair 
plushes are made of yarns from No. 20 to No. 70; tlie tissues made of the 
former number are worth four fi^ancs i^er metre, and of the latter 10 francs 
per metre, showing the importance of preserving the fineness of the fleece. 
A medium article is made extensively in Prussia, of yarns spun from an 
admixture of mohair with combing- wool, but it is wanting in the even- 
ness of surface and brilliant reflections or bloom of the French goods. 
Mohair yarn is employed largely in Paris, Msmes, Lyons, and Germany, 
for the manufacture of laces, which are substituted for the silk lace fab- 
rics of Valenciennes and Chantilly. The shawls frequently spoken of 
as made of Angora wool are of a lace texture, and do not correspond to 
the cashmere or Indian shawls. The shawls known as llama shawls are 
made of mohair. I have seen one at Stewart's wholesale establishment 
valued at $80, weighing only 2^ ounces. Mohair is also largely consumed 
at Bradford, in England, in the fabrication of light summer dress goods. 
They are woven with warps of silk and cotton, princii)ally the latter, and 
the development of this manufacture is due principally to the improve- 
ments in making fine cotton Avarps, the combination of wool with mohair 
not being fomid advantageous. These goods are distinguished by their 
lustre and by the rigidity of the fabric. All the mohair yarns used in 
Europe are spun in England, the English having broken dqwn by tem- 
porary reduction of prices all attempts at spinning in France. Success- 
ful experiments at spinning and weaving Angora fabrics ha ve been made 
in this country, as shown by the samples of yarn spun by Mr. Cameron, 
and the dress goods spun and woven by Mr. Fay of the Lowell Manufactur- 
ing Company, from Angora wool grown by Mr. Chenery, of Belmont. 

Before the demand of this material for dress goods and x)lushes, mohair 
was largely used in Europe and this countiy for lastings for fine broad- 
cloths, the lustrous surface acting as a frame in a picture to set ofl" the 
goods. This use is now abandoned. Mohair is now extensively used to 
form the pile of certain styles of plushes used for ladies' cloakings, also for 
the pile of the best fabrics styled Astrakhans. Narrow strips of the skin 
of the Angora Avith the fleece attached have been recently in fashion for 
trimmings, and great prices Avere obtained for a limited number of the 
pelts for this purpose. The skins with the fleeces attached Avill always 
bring high prices for foot rugs, on account of their peculiar lustre and 
the advantages they possess over those made of wool, in not being liable 
to felt. 

Nearly all the raAV mohair of commerce is at present consumed by a 
very few manufacturers in England, Avho first commenced spinning in 



104 



PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 



1835j at tlie suggestion of Mr. Soutliey, and soon excluded tlie Turkish 
yarns by the superiority and evenness of their yarns. The enormous 
works of Mr. Salt, in England, were erected in 1853, mainly for the man- 
ufacture of mohair and alpaca fabrics.^ The annual ex^^orts of mohair 
fi^om Turkey as well as other instructive facts are given in the following 
letter, addi-essed to Messrs. G. W. Bond & Go., December, 18G7, by 
Bauendahl & Co., a leading wool and commercial firm in New York, 
obtained at my request : 

''Agreeablj^ Avith the request of your Mr. G. W. Bond, we beg here- 
with to hand you all the information we have regarding mohair or goats' 

AVOOl. 

'-'• Good mohair (Angora goat) is not known as an article of commerce 
anywhere but in Asia Minor. It is received from Asia Minor in bales 
varying from 150 to 200 pounds in weight, as most couA^enient, each 
fleece carefully rolled up and tightly jiacked. The exports from Turkey 
are as folloAvs : 



A''ears. Bales. 


Years. 


Bales. 

1 


Years. 


Bales. 


Years. 
1865 


Bales. 


1850 12 884 


1861 


16, 592 
17,706 


1863 

1864 


14,812 
19, 761 


27, 641 


18()0 11,902 


1862 


1 1866 


22, 068 













*'We have seen samples of goats' wool grown in South Africa and 
this country, but they had degenerated, becoming coarser and losing 
the lustre and silky appearance which giA^es the staple most of its A^alue. 
It is consumed by less than a dozen houses in Eiu"oi)e ; in fact, one firm 
consumes about one-third of the Avhole supply, and has agents in Tiu'key 
choosing the same. It is a very peculiar article j either CA^erybody 
wants it, or no one Avill touch it. There seems to be no steadiness iu 
the trade ; but the demand is seldom in abeyance for more than four 
months at a time. Large buyers have aA^oided it for some time ; there- 
fore stocks haAX accumulated to a considerable but not excessiA^e extent. 

"About two years ago the inice was \y^ to nearly 90 cents gold, and 
fell, after long inaction, to about 50 to 54 cents gold per ijound for super 
white Constantinople ; but CA^en at this price there is A^ery little demand. 
The value of second-class locky lots is ahvays very uncertain. It forms, 
hoAYCA^er, only a trifling i^ortion of the exj)orts, and Avill fetch about 20 
to 30 cents gold per pound. 

" Fawn, a dark gray mohair with long staple, is usually salable at 21 
cents gold to 30 cents currency. There is also a fair kind of brown 
mohair, but shorter and more cotted, that we think sells best in France 
at i)rices betAveen 20 to 30 cents gold. The terms on AA'hich this article 
is sold in the market are cash in one month, less Aac per centum dis- 
count ; England, tares actual, and one pound draft, per cAvt.^'^ 

^ Vide Jame's History of the Worsted Manufactures. 

2 Since this paper was written Messrs. Bauendahl & Co., have furnished important 
n formation in a letter dated September 17, lfc68, and published in the Country Gentleman. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 105 

I liave ascertained from otlier sources tliat tlie price of mohair in En<i^- 
land of late years has been about double that of the best English comb- 
ing wools. 

RECAPITULATION AND CONCLUSION. 

Exi)erience in Europe, confirmed by observations in this country, has 
demonstrated the practicability of the acclimation of this rac.e under 
favorable conditions of the climate, without degeneracy of the fleeces. 
There are districts in this country possessing climate, temperature^ and 
hygrometric conditions corresponding to those observed in Asia Minor 
and Europe as favorable to the culture of this race. The Angora goat 
and the domestic goat of Euroi^e and this country, having descended 
from separate sources, the obtaining of good results from the crosses of 
these two races is theoretically improbable, and is demonstrated to be 
so by the best experience in Europe. The normal fibre desired for the 
textile arts is only to be found in flocks of the perfectly pure race, and 
perhaps in flocks bred back to the standard of the pure race by crosses 
of a perfectly pure buck with the black Asiatic goats of the same rax^e. 

They say: " The recent remarkable increase in the consumption of goat wool in Europe 
has induced us to bring- the subject under the notice of American wool-growers. Manufac- 
turers here would use mohair largely if they could depend upon a regular supply, and, as 
we have the fact now established that, with sufficient care, goat's wool can be raised of a 
superior quality here, we think that the time has arrived when every possible effort should be 
made by our wool-growers to supply the want. The trade oifers a most extensive field and 
prospects of ample profits. 

"Mohair, as an article of commerce, is at present not grown anywhere but in Asia Minor, 
and the entire exports to England last year amount to 2,200,000 pounds. This is quite inade- 
quate to accommodate the present demand, and the necessity of a larger supply becomes daily 
more and more manifest. We have seen samples of mohair grown in South Africa, but they 
had degenerated, becoming coarser and losing the lustre and silky appearance which give the 
staple most of its value. 

" We hear that last month large sales were made in England at about 80 cents, gold, per 
pound, and at this price consumers continue to buy freely when good staple and condition 
are assured. The stability of this price, however, is uncertain, and the value is dependent 
on the demand of the fancy trade, though this article has gained greatly in steadiness by its 
being employed in many new fabrics for upholstering purposes, laces, dress goods, &c. 

" This article we receive for sale on consignment, and our last lots realized from $1 to $1 25 
(currency) per pound, just according to quality and condition. The latter price has been 
likewise paid for a small lot forwanled to us by a breeder near Frankfort, Ky., who is also 
interested in raising full-bluud goats. We find it exceedingly difficult to place second-class 
lots; in fact, such are hardly salable, and their value is very uncertain. The great fault of 
goat's wool is the abundance of scurf and kemps, (dead hairs,) and the greatest attention 
should be directed towards avoiding these evils. 

"In Europe mohair is consumed by less than a dozen houses ; in fact, one firm consumes 
about one-third of the whole supply. It is important to have the mohair well and regularly 
packed in good sacks, weighing about 250 or 300 pounds, as most convenient for the trade." 

It will be observed that the practical observations of these experienced wool buyers con- 
firm the views presented in the above paper as the worthlessness of the fleeces of crossed 
goats. I have examined several pelts from South Africa, evidently from crosses of the 
Angora and common goat, in which the fine wool from the Angora was so mixed with coarse 
hairs of the common stock as to render the fleeces useless for textile purposes. 



106 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITIOX. 

It is desirable that importations sliould be made of the black female 
Kurd goat of Asia Miuor, for crossing with the i^ure white bucks. There 
is evidence of great weight in favor of good results from such cases. 

Systematic measures of acclimation must always be impeded by the 
eagerness of breeders for sale to obtain merchantable results. The 
approiiriation of this race is of sufficient importance to deserve the 
earnest attention of the government, as the best races of the merino 
slieei) have been only secured through the persevering and disinter- 
ested efforts of governments in Europe. In the absence of any national 
society for acclinmtion in this country, a deficiency Avhich ought not 
long to exist, the Department of Agriculture, under its x>resent vigorous . 
and intelligent head, offers the best means of securing the desired 
results. The cost of a single Eodman gam would secure a magnificent 
flock to serve for i^rolonged exi)eriment and as a model to our agricul- 
turists. Producers cannot expect to obtain remunerating prices for their 
fleeces until the manufacture of mohair fabrics is established in this 
country. It must be years before a sufficient supply is grown here to 
occupy a single mill. The fleeces of over 10,000 sheep are consumed 
every week in the single establishment of the Pacific Mills. It is 
probable that there vnM be a demand for all that can be grown for some 
time, for ytii-ns for braids, and for Astrakhan cloakings, which are being 
made in Eliode Island. The demand for animals of the pure race will 
increase without reference to the value of the fleeces. There are enough 
agriculturists of taste and wealth in this country who wiU readily pay 
large prices for these docile and beautifid animals, simply as ornaments 
lor their farms. 

I am convinced that the greatest obstacle to the i^ermanent acquisition 
of new resources from any department of nature is exaggerated expecta- 
tions as to their value and facility of acquirement. Our impatient 
countrymen need to be reminded that real progress is the offsi)ring not 
only of human effort but of time, and that of acclimation especially it 
may be said: Ao>i solum humani ingenii sed temporis quoque fiUa est. 
There is encoiuagement, however, in the fact that the fruits of decades 
or centuries in older countries are matured here in years. In how brief 
a time has this vast countr^^ been stocked with all the animal wealth 
which Europe had to bestow! How rapidly have we appro] )ria ted all 
the best ovine and bovine races of the old world! Within .half a cen- 
tury we have si)read the merino sheep over all the prairies of the West, 
and within a less period have acquired and perfected the cattle of the 
Durliam shorthorn breed, and even sent them back to amelioiate the 
I)arent stock in England. The hope then is not vain that the precious 
race, whose slow march westward we have traced from the remote East, 
may at no distant time be fully seciu'ed for the western Avorld. 



APPENDIX C. 
THE WOOL BEST ADAPTED TO VARIOUS MANUFACTURES. 

Extract from the lyroceedings of the conveiition of delegates from the National 
Association of Wool Manufacturers^ and from the several organizations of 
the ivool-grotvers of the United States^ at Syracuse^ New Yorl'^ December 
13, 1865. 

The fourtli subject for discussion was then taken uj), to wit, the wool 
best adapted to the various manufactures, especially that of worsted. 

The President. We should be glad to know what you do with our 
wools ', what kind of wools go into what kind of fabrics. We should be 
glad of some practical information upon that subject. 

Mr. Hazard. The president of our association (Hon. E. B. Bigelow) 
has paid more attention to this subject, j^erhaps, than any other person, 
and I hope we shall hear from him upon it, 

Mr. Blanchard. If the inquiry is with reference to worsted wools 
particularly, I think our secretary has some facts in regard to it that will 
be of interest to the wool- growers here. But, sir, in connection with that, 
if I may be indulged with the attention of the assembly for a few moments, 
I would like to express briefly some views of the different kinds of sheep, 
which, in the estimation of manufacturers, it would be desirable to raise 
in this country. 

There are diversified interests among the manufacturers. There is a 
great diversity of talent among them. One man, i)ossessing a taste, a 
cultivated taste, if you please, for fancy articles, will enter ux)on the man- 
ufacture of those fabrics that are styled fancy goods, and succeed in them 
admirably, and to the entire satisfaction of himself, as well as benefit to 
the community. Another man, attempting to i)roduce the same article, 
would fail in business in less than six months. I know some men who 
have spent almost a lifetime in making black doeskins, until they have 
attained a perfection in the article that is almost unsurpassed by the 
Germans. Let those same men attempt to manufacture a cheap article, 
and the probability is that they would fail to accomplish their object. 

Ii^ow, I have thought that perhaps the same principle might ai)i)ly to 
w ool-growers. In my experience with the Avool-growers of the countrj^, 
I have sometimes found a man who would take a Saxony flock of imx^orted 
sheep, retain all their excellence, and continue to imi)i'ove on that flock, 
until he had secured i)erliaps one of the best in the United States. I 
have now in my mind one man in Washington county, of whom you may 
have heard, I mean Mr. Samuel Patterson, whose flock was, if not supe- 
rior, at least fully equal, to any other in the State of Pennsylvania. He 
had a taste for it j and by his knowledge of the habits of Saxony sheep 



108 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

lie was enabled to cultivate tliem, and to cultivate tliem with success. 
Otlier men prefer to cultivate the merino sheep ; and, in the application 
of their minds to that branch of sheep culture, they have been eminently 
successfid. Another class of men, living near large cities, who may go 
into Canada, or into some of the sections of the country where a large 
kind of sheep are grown, purchase their stock, take them to the vicinity 
of the large cities, put them upon their ])astures, feed them until they 
become fot, and then take them to market and sell them for mutton ; 
such men, though the wool that is upon these sheep is coarse wool, are 
successfid in that branch of sheep husbandry. Hence, it seems that we 
need this diversified apidication of the talent of the country in the pro- 
duction of the raw material, as much as we need the diversified talent 
that exists among manufacturers in producing the various articles we 
want. 

]N^ow, if this is so — I make these remarks to throw the thought before 
the minds of the wool-growers — is it wise to abandon the growth of 
Saxony wool f If I mistake not the public sentiment of the wool-growing 
community at the present time, it is that the gi'ade of wool which is 
usually denominated merino is fine enough to meet the Avants of all the 
manufacturers of this country. Let me assure you that it is not so. 
Unless you do produce the Saxony wool, we, as manufacturers, will be 
forced to resort to foreign markets for a sui)i)ly. There are certain fab- 
rics manufactured to-day that cannot be made without that grade of wool 
which is denominated Saxony wool, fine wool, finer than any other that 
is i)roduced in this country, (I use the words as they are practically' used 
among farmers, Avithout specifying the difierence that exists between 
them.) If you Avish to-day to make a very fine broadcloth — and if the 
object we liaA^e in a icAV is carried out, that the manufacturers of this 
country are to supijly the Avants of the country — you must have clean, 
fine Avools to do it ; such wools as the Australian, Cape of Good Hope, or 
German a\ ools. If you don't, you cannot make the article. 

I Avill giA^e you an instance, to show the difficulty of getting this fine 
wool, Avhich Illustrates the i)oint I haA^e in \\evr. I am engaged in the 
manufacture of ladies' shaAvls. The consumption of our mill, for the year, 
is about 350,000 pounds. In the last six months. I directed the sorters, 
if they found what we term a '^ inck-lock" fleece, to lay it aside. During 
these six months they haA^e only saA^ed about 400 pounds of that quality. 
The next grade we use is Avliat is ordinarily denominated the fine avooI 
of this country. From that we liaA^e made an article, which, when taken 
to New York, Avas sold to a prominent importer at an adAanc^e of 33^ per 
cent, over any article of the kind CA^er made in this country, I believe, 
except, it may be, something that Avas made for exhibition at a fair. 

I only allude to this to shoAV that that kind of wool must be produced 
in this country if we intend to supply the demand of this countrj' for tine 
fabrics. If that be so, is it Avise on the part of the Avool-growers of this 
countr}^ to abandon the raising of fine wools ? I know you may turn on 



I 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 100 

me, and say, '' You won't pay ns for it f but I say we will pay you for 
it, if you will sell it as cheap as we can ^i>'et it from the foreign groAver, 
and not without. That is plain common sense : I say we can pay you 
for it ; and I say that, if properly classified and properly presented to the 
manufacturer, you can get your iDrice for it. But you can't take your 
Saxony wool to the manufacturer of fancy cassimeres, who wants a 
medium grade of merino wool, and expect that he will i)ay you as much 
for it as the manufacturer of fine broadcloths, fine doeskins, and fine 
shawls. Unless you can present that wool to the manufacturer who 
wants to use it, you can never get its value. If it is sold to the passing 
buyer, who is travelling round the country, he will give perhaps a cent 
and a half a i^ound more for it than for ordinary wools. 

I simply call your attention to this matter that you may think upon it 
and act upon it as your judgment may dic^tate. I now renew my call 
upon our secretary for facts in his possession in relation to worsted wool. 

Mr. John L. Hayes, of Massachusetts. I will respond with pleasure to 
the request of the gentleman from Connecticut, and submit to the con- 
vention some considerations bearing upon the imx^ortance of increasing 
the production of combing or worsted wools in this country j but, before 
addressing myself to that si^ecial subject of inquiry, I desire to call 
attention to some facts which will throw light upon the extent to which 
wool in general is used in the textile arts, and which will illustrate the 
demand in the markets of the world for this material, and the tendency 
of the age toAvards its increased consumption. There is no more inter- 
esting or practical question, to the producer of wool especially, than the 
inquiry whether there is a demand for his product, and Avhether there 
will be such an increased demand as Avill continue i^rices, and justify him 
in expending capital for increased i^roduction. 

In pursuing this inquiry, we are struck AAdth the observation that 
nature is economical in the supply of the raw material, or rather in the 
varieties of raw material, which are to be worked up by man. How few 
are the great natural staples which make up the bulk of commercial 
commodities. But the uses of any raw material, which is found api^li- 
cable in the arts, are infinite. We utterly fail to imagine the new appli- 
cations to which such raw material may be made. Every improvement 
in the arts, in chemistry or machinery, each new step in the progress of 
civilization or luxury, increases the modes of application and conse- 
quently the demand. The demand for a particular fabric or manufacture 
may cease through change of fashion, but the demand for the raAv material 
ncA^er. 

The demand for aa ool receiA^ed its most important impulse in modern 
times at about the commencement of the present century, or perhaps the 
latter part of the last century, from the great improA^ements A\iiich Avere 
made in cotton machinery, which Avere applied also to aaooI. The im- 
proA^ements in the spinning jenny, the introduction of the ])OAA'er-loom, 
and the establishment of the factory system, multiplied the power of the 



110 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

maimfactiirer to sucli an extent, that an nnprecedented demand for 
wool began to arise. Then tlie increased nse of other kindred fibres 
added also to the consnmption of avooI. It is a cimons fact, that cotton, 
although it has always been regarded as the rival of wool, has added 
largely to its consumj)tion. It is stated by English observers, that the 
use of cotton warps has added vastly to the extent to which wool is used 
in England. Entire factories are now engaged in the manufacture of 
cotton Avarp ; and it is found that, by the use of this warj) Avith Avoollen 
filling, cotton, instead of being a competitor, is the most imj)ortant aux- 
iliary of AVOOl. 

I AvdU now refer to the statistics which illustrate the progress of the 
demand for this material. The increase in the consumi^tion of wool is 
strikingly shoAAoi by a comparison of tAvo periods in England, no further 
apart than 30 years. The imi)ortations of avooI into England 30 years 
ago were — from Germany, in round numbers, 74,000 bales ; from Spain 
and Portugal, 10,000 bales; the British colonies, 8,000 bales; sundry 
other places, 5,000 bales. Total in 1830, 98,000. 

^IsTow compare these imi^orfs with those of 1862 and 1861. In 1862, the 
imports from Australia were 226,000 bales; from the Cape of Good Hope, 
66,000 bales; from Germany, 29,000 bales; from Spain, 1,000 bales; 
from Portugal, 11,000 bales ; from Russia, 40,000 bales ; from the East 
Indies, 52,000 bales ; from South America, 80,000 bales ; sundry other 
places, 96,000 bales. Total, 585,000 bales. Then we come to 1864, and 
we find from Australia, as against 226,000 in 1862, 302,000 bales ; as 
against 66,000 from the Cape of Good Hope in 1865, 68,000 ; as against 
80,000 from South America in 1862, 99,000. In all, in 1864, 688,336 bales. 

Comparing that with the imx:)ortation only 30 years before, we haA^e 
688,000 bales as against 98,000. Australia now supplies more than three 
times the AA^hole amount of foreign ayooI consumed in England a third of 
a century ago. The production of South America exceeds the Avliole 
consumption then. In this short period, the consumption has actually 
increased seven-fold. The production of avooI in England is 250,000,000 
pounds; the imports, 184,000,000; the exports, 54,000,000; so that the 
total amount consumed in England is 380,000,000 pounds. Add to that 
the shoddy, of which 65,000,000 pounds are consumed, and ^ye haA e the 
enormous total of 445,000,000 i)ounds of wool consumed in England 
alone, 

Now this increase of production and consumption is not confined to 
England alone; it goes on in the same ratio in other countries. In 1861, 
France exjiorted AAooUen goods of the Aalue of 188,000,000 francs; in 
1863, 283,000,000 francs. The production of Germany, Eussia, and Aus- 
tria is increasing in the same ratio ; so that we haA^e noAV, it is estimated, 
a consumption in all the Avorld of 1,600,000,000 pounds of aaooI, and yet 
Inmdreds of millions of people, as in China, are just beginning to a])pre- 
ciate the A'alue of AvooUen fabrics. Eatu France has but just commenced 
to supply herself with carpets. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. Ill 

The testimony taken before tlie House of Lords in 1828 shows that, 
although less than 98,000 hales of wool were brouglit into England at 
that time, every warehouse was filled with wool, and stocks were lying 
on hand sometimes for five or six years ; whereas, at the x>resent time, 
as I am informed by an English gentleman of great intelligence, and a 
very large dealer in wool, Mr. Bowes, the warehouses are exhausted, and 
there are no stocks on hand. The demand is fully up to the supply. 

The facts in relation to prices are not less interesting. In 1855, the 
price of English combing-fleeces was Ls'. l^d. In 1804, the inice of the 
same wools was 2s. 4,d. Australian fleeces averaged in 1855 l,s'. Sd.^ in 
1804, Is. IM. Cape fleeces in 1855, Is. M.) in 1804, l.v. M. Buenos 
Ayres, fair mestizo, in 1855, Id.) in 1804, 8^. Cordova, in 1855, 8^f/.j in 
1804, ll^d. 

Thus we see that the fine wools have not declined ; they have kept 
about the same ratio. 

But the question still remains. Will the demand for the fine wools, 
relatively to other kinds, continue? In considering that question, it is 
worth Avhile to look at the production of Australia particularly, and tlie 
facts which show the extraordinary increase in the ratio of i)roduction 
in the Australian colonies. In 1797 three merino rams and five ewes 
were carried there 5 but so slow was the introduction of the production 
of wool into those colonies, that it was not till 1807, 10 years later, that 
the first bale of avooI was carried from Australia to England. But the 
flocks of Australia did not originate from that source. The development 
of fine wool husbandry in these colonies was the result of an accident. 
Some English whalers captured in the South Seas, about the beginning 
of the present centiuy, a vessel i^roceeding to Peru from Si)ain, in which 
there were 300 merino rams and CAves. These sheep were carried to 
Australia, and originated the fine merino wool, whose production is now 
estimated at 100,000,000 i)oundsj and are sold in si)ecial market at Lon- 
don, to which all the manufacturers of the world resort. The production 
of fine Avool of La Plata is estimated at 100,000,000 pounds ; and that of 
the Cax^e at 50,000,000 x^ounds. And when you remember that only a 
portion of Australia has been developed, and that the vast and fertile 
interior still remains to be opened up, who can tell Avhat shaU be the 
l)roduction in the future ? The i)ampas of the Argentine Republic offer 
even a more unbounded field for i)roduction. They i)resent a vast 
ui>lifted alluvial plain, 800,000 square miles in extent, i^resenting an 
ocean of verdure, where Avool-growing in the production of fine wool 
called mestiza, or inq^roved wool, is pursued with more vigor and profit 
than in any other part of the world,witli the single drawback that the 
value of the wool is greatly inq>aired by burrs derived from a species of 
clover peculiar to the vegetation of the panq)as. In view of the fields 
for the production of fine wool, thus rapidly exi)anding, which are opened 
abroad, it is Avell to inquire Avhether it may not be desirable to turn our 
attention to some other of the various kinds of wool in which the com- 
petition of foreign countries is not likely to be so formidable. 



112 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

In considering tins matter, tlie producer of wool should not overlook 
the competition Avith clothing or merino wool of a material which was 
not kno^^ n in manufactures until the present century. I refer to shoody, 
or rather that variety of shoody known in England by the name of 
mungo. The term ''shoody," strictly speaking, is the name applied to 
fibre made from soft rags, from flannels and blankets which were first 
used in manufacture of cloth. The use of this material originated at 
Bately, in England, in 1813. Mungo is the fibre obtained from hard rags 
of fine broadcloth, such as clii)i)ings from the tailors' shoj^s. This was not 
introduced until later, and the manufacturers of Bately were quite incredu- 
lous of its being utilized. The Yorkshire man, who first conceived the 
idea of using the fibre of hard rags, obstinately replied to the objection 
that the material could not be introduced, ''It mun go," (it must go.) It 
did go, and a new substance was introduced into the arts, and a new 
word into the English language. Of shoody and mungo 65,000,000 
pounds are consumed in England, more than our whole clip of wool in 
1860. It is estimated that 25,000 i^ersons are employed in converting 
shoody into cloth, and that the value of the product is five or .six 
million pounds sterling. The fact, however, to which I wish to call atten- 
tion is, that shoody comes in competition with fine or cloth wool only. It 
is not used in the manufacture of Avorsted, and does not take the lilace of 
combing- Avools. 

When we look at the facts as to i)rices before giA^en, we find that the 
English combing-fleeces Avere AA^orth in 1855 only l,s'. l^d.; in 1861 they 
were AAorth 2s. IfZ.; that is, they had more than doubled in 10 years, 
while cloth- wools had just about held their own in respect to price. Eng- 
land is the only country which has de\^oted itself exclusiA^ely to the produc- 
tion of the long combing- wools required for the manufacture of Avorsted. 
She cannot, or does not, i^roduce any fine wool. There are, in fact, no 
merino sheep in England. It is belicAed, Iioavca er, that England has 
attained to the utmost production of this wool of which her limited ter- 
ritory is capable. The manufacturers of Bradford are already alarmed, 
and liaA^e issued circulars to induce a greater supply of lustre avooIs. 
England is the only country Avhich now i)roduces, to any extent, the long 
combing- wools. It is found that in Australia the combing- wools cannot 
be grown; and they cannot be groAvn at the Cape. I liaA e the authority 
of Mr. Bowes for saying that the experiment has been fully tried, and 
lias signally failed; that Leicester, CotsAvold, and Lincolnshire sheep 
haA^e been repeatedly carried to Australia and the Cape, and every eftbrt 
made to introduce the culture of long-Avoolled sheep; but it has been 
found that after a little AAhile the avooI is conAcrted into hair, and it is 
noAV admitted that the long combing-Av ools cannot be grown in Australia 
or at the Cape. But the combing-wools ca7i be groAA^n in the United 
States. The fact of the fitness of this country for the groAvth of comb- 
ing-Avools is comi)letely established by the success aaIucIi has attained 
the production of that kind of avooI in Canada. The amouut of comb- 



WOOL AND MANUFACTUEES OF WOOL. 113 

ing- wools iioAv produced in Canada is between live and six million i)ounds. 
The quality, in the English market, is not regarded as by any means 
equal to their own combing- wools, because the same care is not taken in 
its production, and the English complain that the wool is full of burrs. 
In England the most extraordinary care is taken. The fields are actually 
swept, that the fleeces may receive no injiuy from dirt. But our Avorsted 
manufiictm-ers have found the Canada avooIs perfectly good substitutes 
for the English avooIs, and ha\^e paid as high as $1 40 cuiTcncy for avooI 
worth five years ago only 28 cents. The attempt has been made in this 
country to manufVicture alpaca goods from this long combing- wool, for 
A\ hich, by reason of its lustre, it is peculiarly fitted. There Avas some 
failure in the first exi)eriment, and the manufacturers su^jposed that the 
wool Avas not suitable. They then sent to England, and imported 1,000 
l^ounds of the best combing- wool; and, upon a comparison of that AAdth 
the combing- wool of Canada, it was found that the Canadian wool Avas 
equal to the English in CA^ery respect. I have here some specimens of 
this fabric, AA'hich is called '^alpaca" because it is an imitation of the 
fabrics made from alpaca wool. (The speaker held ux) the specimens to 
the A^CAv of the convention.) This stuff is made of a filling of the long 
combing- wool of Canada Avith a warj) of cotton. The fabric is equal in 
finish and lustre to any imported from England. 

The question is eminently worthy of the consideration of our farmers, 
whether the long-wool husbandry may not be x^rofitably introduced into 
this country. This is a question u^jon AA'hich Ave, as manufacturers, pre- 
tend to giA'e no opinion. We can only assure the farmers of the United 
States, that there is a growing demand for this material, that there Avill 
be less competition in the groAvth of this avooI than in any other, and that 
the x)rices are certain to be higher than for any wool which can be groAATi 
in this country. To determine the question of profit, it will be necessary 
that exx^eriments ux)on an extensiA e scale be tried, and Avill be doubtless 
necessary that a system of husbandry should be dcA elox^ed in this coun- 
try analogous to the four-field system in England, but fitted for the x)ecu- 
liar necessities of our soil and climate. I can conceiA'e of no subject more 
AA^orthA' of the attention of the National Association of Wool-GroAvers, 
formed here to-day, or of the boards of agricultiu^al colleges in the sev- 
eral States. 

It may be said that the introduction of long-wool husbandry avLII inter- 
fere Avith that already established in this country. I see no force in this 
objection. It is x^robable that this kind of sheex^ husbandry can be x>i'ofit- 
ably carried on only in those districts where there is a demand for mut- 
ton, and where the mutton Avill be as much an object as the wool. It 
seems to me, Mr. President and gentlemen, that the dcA elopment of this 
species of sheex> will not interfere Avith the branches of sheex) husbandry 
Avhich are noAv x)iusued, but Avill giA^e an increased demand for the x^ccu- 
liar kind of merino wool now being xu'oduced by the intelligent skill of 
the Vermont breeders. Dr. Loring this morning quoted some remarks 
8 w 



114 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

of mine in reference to the peculiar value of the American merino fleece. 
I am convinced that the fabrics to which the coarse merino wool that 
seems to be in favor here is best adapted, have not yet been manufactured 
in this country to any extent. The class of goods to which that wool is 
peculiarly fitted are the fabrics somewhat analogous to the goods called 
^^coburgs" and the goods called ^'merinoes" and "thibets," the soft stuff 
goods for women's wear. Now, in that branch of manufacture, or that 
of stufl' goods as distinguished from cloth goods, France employs 300,000 
persons. In this country, there were not 5,000 employed in 1860. The 
remarkable development of that branch of industry in France is attrib- 
uted to the peculiar qualities of the merino wool which the French pos- 
sess. This wool is long in staple, the sheep are of unusual size, and the 
fleeces heavy, having, in fact, the very characteristics of the American 
merino. M. Benoville, a very eminent manufacturer and a practical 
man, who has written a work on the combing- wool industry of that coun- 
try — one of the most learned works that has ever been written upon any 
branch of the practical arts — describes these fabrics in detail, and gives 
the reasons why France has obtained such eminence in their production. 
The most important reason which he gives is in these words : 

'' The first fact that we ought to proclaim abroad is, that Avithout the 
introduction of the Spanish race into our flocks, and without all the skill 
of om^ agriculturists, we should still vegetate in dependence upon neigh- 
boring nations, and should be reduced to clothe ourselves with their stuffs. 
It is to the admirable revolution in the raising of ovine animals that we 
owe the beautiful industry of spinning the merino combing- avooIs. It is 
to this that we owe the splendor of the industries of Aveaving combing- 
wool at Paris, at Eheims, at Roubaix, at Amiens, and St. Quentin." 

ISTow, I Avisli to enforce this position. In order that the Avorsted man- 
ufacture slioidd be dcA eloped in this country — and by the worsted man- 
ufacture I mean the manufacture of stuff goods in their infinite a ariety 
for female apparel and furniture trimmings, &c., as distinguished from 
cloth goods — there must first be a supply of long combing- avooI from 
sheep of the English breed. The development of the manufacture cre- 
ated by the supply of these wools will be the most certain means of cre- 
ating the demand for the long merino wools for soft stuff goods, for Avhich 
I haA' e shown they are peculiarly fitted. We are as yet but in our intancy 
in our manufactures. The work before us, as wool-growers and manu- 
facturers, is to clothe all the people of the United States Avith our avooI 
and our fabrics. We have but just commenced the AA^ork; and Avhen a 
full supply of raAV material is furnished, and groAver and manufacturer 
are encouraged by a stable system of protection, the imagination can 
hardly conceive the grand field Avhich will be opened in this country in 
the industry of avooI and woollens. 

******** 

Mr. George W. Bond, of Massachusetts. In my position as chair- 
man of the committee on raw materials, I IniA^e giA^n some attention to 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 115 

this subject. Our anuunl import of worsted goods from Great Britain is 
about fifty million yards, besides a very large amount, of wliicli we liave 
no accurate record, from France. Those from France are principally of 
a character for which oiu* long merino wools are admirably well adapted. 
We need to make all the varieties of goods that we consume in this coun- 
try, of all the varieties of wool that we produce. Had I known, before I 
left home, that this question was to come up in this form, I could have 
prepared myself with an approximate statement of the quantity required 
of the different kinds of wool. In round numbers, we require some fif- 
teen million pounds of wool, in the state in which it generally comes to 
market. A little of the grade of wool such as it is unprofitable to grow 
here is grown on the plains west of the Mississippi 5 but the amount is 
trifling. The great bulk of the wool which we requu-e is of the merino 
gTade, which we use for oiu* cassimeres, flannels, and delaines ; and I 
trust that as we increase in the development of the length of the staple 
of the merino, the fabrics which the secretary has referred to will soon 
be added. Experiments are being made now which I think will lead 
soon to their extensive manufacture. The other great branch of manu- 
facture is that of worsted goods, of which there is a great and immensely 
increasing consumption, requiring a class of wool, the value of which 
alone seems to have been increased by the advance in cotton. We have 
now no hindrance to that manufacture in this country, save a supply 
of the raw material. As has been stated, we have hitherto imported 
from three to five million i)ounds from Canada ; and from that supply 
we shall be cut oft*, if the reciprocity treaty is closed the coming spring. 
What those concerns will then do who have embarked in the manufac- 
ture I cannot foresee. We should readily and promi)tly consume in this 
country, I think, not less than twenty million i^ounds of such wools, if 
we had the supply. 

Another class of wools for which we require, for our present consump- 
tion, the equivalent of ten or fifteen million ijounds, at least, of washed 
wool — say twenty to thirty million pounds in the condition in which we 
receive it — are the finer wools, grown in South America, Australia, and 
the Cape, for the manufacture of goods requiring a close filling and supe- 
rior finish, which we have been unable to obtain hitherto from any con- 
siderable amount of wool grown in this country. Some of the wools 
grown in Virginia have had these qualities ; and when Virginia and 
East Tennessee come to be settled by Northern men, I hope we shall, 
from that source, and i)ossibly from some parts of Texas, be able to 
obtain wools which are adapted to these uses. Until then, we must 
depend upon foreign markets for our supply. But it is the earnest wish 
of all connected with the woollen and worsted manufacture, so far as I 
know, that the growth of these wools should be undertaken ; that exper- 
iments should be made to ascertain what part of the country is best 
adapted to them : and that we should have a supply of our own growth. 

While I am up, I would allude to a question, the imi3ortance of which 



116 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

I have felt for a gTeat many years ; that is, the necessity for a careful 
study, scientific and i)ractical, of the influence of climate and soil u^^on 
wool. All of us here present know that they have an immense influence. 
What that influence is, has never been settled, I believe, nicely, thor- 
oughly, in this country or any other. In a country so extended as ours, 
^nth every variety of climate and soil, it is of more imiiortance than it 
can be to any other nation in the world. When Professor Agassiz first 
established his museum of comparative zoology, it Avas a part of his plan 
to connect with that mstitution the study of this important subject. 
The plan he laid out was so Aast, that, in bringing it into i)ractical order, 
he had not reached that when the war began. The war took off a num- 
ber of young men ux)on whom he depended to enter with him upon this 
department of science, and it has thus been delayed. But I hope, when 
he returns, he will soon be able to take it up there ; and the Institute of 
Technology, also, hopes to devote a part of its attention to the study of 
that and other matters connected with the i)ractical arts. 

Mr. R. G. Hazard, of Rhode Island. AYhen I was up on a former occa- 
sion, I referred to the direct interest the wool manufacturer had in the 
ability of the wool-gTower to i^roduce his wool in the cheapest and most 
economical manner. Perhai^s the wool-grower has an equal interest in 
the abOity and skiU of the manufacturer to Avork up the raw material 
into goods of the greatest possible value. And upon this subject of 
worsted wools, I think the producer may find encouragement in the fact 
that the manufacturers are acquiring skill in that direction x^erhaps more 
rapidly than in any other. Some of them have alluded to that subject, 
and seem discouraged in regard to their ability to produce that kind of 
wool. But the experiments on which this opinion is founded were prob- 
ably tried when such wools were very much lower in j)roportion than they 
are now. There is, however, an imx)ortant consideration connected vith 
that J and I think it very desirable that this subject should be seen in 
all its bearings. That consideration is, that those kinds of wools are 
grown upon large sheep. Now, in this country, the mutton seems to be 
comx^aratively a small object. In Great Britain the mutton is the main 
object, and the wool merely an incidental production. I have no doubt 
that many of their fiirmers, if they should hear of our keeping sheep 
merely for their wool, would appear as much astonished as some of ours 
are when thej' hear of Russian farmers keeping pigs for their bristles. 
That may affect the i)roduction of this kind of wool ; but, when we become 
more a mutton-eating people, it may be more judicious for us to raise 
these large sheep. 

Connected with that subject there is a merely theoretical a iew, which 
I vShoidd like to state, and learn from practical men how far their expe- 
rience bears out the theory, in regard to the size of sheep, or any other 
animal. We are all aware that the surface upon which the wool grows 
increases as the square of the linear dimensions j while the carcass, which 
has to be sustained to produce that wool, increases as the cube. For 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 117 

instance, if you begin with tlie linear dimension two, tlie square, being 
■ foiu", will represent tlie smface ui^on wliieh the wool groAvs ; the cube, 
which is eight, representing the carcass of the sheep, which has to be sus- 
tained. Now, if you double the linear dimensions — instead of making 
them two, make them four — you have a surface upon which the wool 
grows of sixteen J and the cube A\dll be sixty-four. In the one case it is 
as one to two ; in the other, as one to four. According to that calcula- 
tion it would seem that we ought to raise the greatest quantity of wool 
per acre upon small sheep. 



APPENDIX D. 
THE CULTURE OF LONG-WOOLLED SHEEP IN THE UNITED STATES. 

By Joseph Walworth. i 
Read before the Wool-Buyer^s Association of Michigan, June 2, 1868. 

Pacific Mills, Lawrence, Mass., J/«?/ 27, 1868. 

Gentlemen : Your favor of tlie 25tli came duly to hand, and in reply 
would say tliat if I coidd I slioidd lia\ e been glad to have been at your 
wool-buyers' convention. 

In rejjly to yoiu- questions on combing and delaine wools, I would say 
that the wool-growers of the country have run too much into the same 
quality of wool, viz : about three-fourths blood. Now there is a certain 
amount of this quality of wool needed ; but the markets have been 
flooded with this one kind, while medium or one-half blood and one- 
fourth blood wools are absolutely scarce. This was largely brought 
about by the introduction of the black Spanish bucks from Vermont, 
and the result has been a deal more soggy and inferior-stapled wool for 
delaine ; so that to-day both in Michigan and Ohio many sections that 
used to yield largely of delaine yield but very little, and the wool is 
not so desirable nor salable. Let the farmers learn that it is not profit- 
able, neither for them nor the manufacturers, for them to grow black- 
topped, heavy, soggy Spanish wool; but rather let them grow good 
stapled bulky fleeces, that are w^ool, and not 50 i)er cent, of worthless 
grease, and let them grow more variety of wools, and not all just about 
the same quality. There is a great demand for medium or one-half 
blood wools, and I think it will be a permanent demand. 

But as a buyer of combing and delaine wools, I wish to say a few 
words on that subject. It is a fact there are not near enough combing 
nor delaine wools grown, and I am satisfied that if we had more of such 
wools, especially of the weU-bred combing wools, the business that now 
calls for them would increase very rapidly. For if we had more variety 
of w^ools, many kinds of goods which are not made in this country at 
present (owing to the impossibility of getting the right kind of wool) 
would be manufactured here. Many i^ers-ons, and especially wool-grow- 
ers, are not aware of the importance of the worsted business that call 
for these wools. 

In England the worsted business has growii wonderfully during the 
last 30 years, so that they need more of the worsted wools than they can 
grow, and they have encouraged the growth of these wools in HoUand 
and some other countries. This business has also increased very rap- 
idly during the last few years both in Belgium and France. Two years 
since I was in one firm in the north of France where they combed 
3,000,000 pounds of worsted w^ools a year. They combed on commission 
for the spinners of the surrounding country. 

^Mr. Walworth is exclusively employed in selecting and purchasing combing wools for 
the Pacific mills, and his suggestions are of great practical value. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 119 

The ^vorsted business is comparatively a new business in the United 
States. In 1801 there Avere only three principal hrms that used combing 
and delaine wools, and altogether they did not use over 3,000,000 i^ounds 
per year, while now there are 25 firms in the States, and altogether they 
use 12,000,000 pounds per year. Besides this large increase in the busi- 
ness in this country, we import very heavily every year of worsted 
goods. Many ask me if the demand for these wools will be permanent, or 
onl}' transient. I unhesitatingly reply that the demand will not only be 
permanent, but must continue to increase; and any one will see that it 
must be so, when I name a few of the classes of goods made from comb- 
ing and delaine wools, viz : Delaines, bareges, stutf dress goods of all 
kinds, serge and moreens for skirts and coverings, braid, Italian cloth 
for gentlemen's coat linings and for uppers for ladies' and children's 
boots; damask, for furniture coverings, pew coverings, and table-cloths; 
bunting, for banners and flags ; (all the star-spangled banners in America 
and all other flags, except silk flags, are made from wool ;) reins and 
girths for horses, many sashes for military men, i)icture cord and tassels, 
warps for carpets, clouds, Eistori shawls, &c., &c. 

Where is the wool grown for these goods ? England and Ireland grow 
the most and best worsted wools. In some parts of France, in Transyl- 
vania, Hungary, and Holland — aU these places grow a little combing 
wool, but they are all second-rate wools as compared with the English. 
In this country. Upper Canada is the principal place. We now begin to 
get some good wools from Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Maine, New York, 
and some other scattered points. 

The man who grows combing wool has less competition than the man 
who grows the common merino wool, for England and France need all 
the combing wool grown in Europe, and they are already competing with 
us for the Canada wools ; so the man who grows these wools has no com- 
jjetition, and he has a permanent and groTving demand for his wool, while 
the man who grows the merino three-quarter blood has to comi)ete with 
Australia, where it pays to grow these wools at eight cents per pound, 
and where but a very few years ago they only raised a few tliousand 
l)Ounds of wool. But now they exi)ort to England 100,000,000 pounds per 
year, and are rapidly increasing ; they have to comi^ete with N^ew Zealand, 
where they grow splendid delaines wool ; they have to compete with the 
Cape of Good Hope, where they now export 50,000,000 pounds per year. 
They have to compete with Buenos A;sTes and the rest of South America. 
They have also to compete with California, Texas, and the cheap lands 
and prairies of the west. The merino sheep is adapted to run in large 
flocks, and pays best where land is cheap, and where they keep sheep 
only for the wool, for they are not a good mutton slieep, and in all the 
places I have mentioned mutton is almost valueless, while in England 
and Canada they keep these sheej) as much for the value and profit of 
the mutton as the wool. And owing to the great improvement in the 
breeding of sheep and cattle, they can now bring sheep to maturity in 
England much earlier than formerly, and by this means get good young 



120 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

mutton for tlie market. Their avooI, as a consequence, lias improved 
very much for worsted purposes. It is groAvn on younger, better hred, 
better cared-for sheep than formei'l}', consequently the wool of the same 
fineness will spin further and better. Wool from old sheep, or sheep that 
are running out in breed, is brashy, and will Avork hairy and rough, and 
make poor goods. 

Canada wool has improved fully 10 per cent, during the last five years. 
Kentuckj' has taken hold of this business in good earnest, and they are 
getting good inices and a quick market for both their wool and mutton; 
and wherever these wools are groAvn in the States, they are readily sold 
at good prices. And they are the most profitable wools to gTOAv for those 
who are adapted to keep such sheep, for the fleece will weigh from four 
to six pounds of well- washed wool, and the carcass is large, weighing 
from 150 to 250 pounds each. 

These sheep are more profitable to keep than the merino. I extract 
from the ISTew England Farmer the following: Mr. Wiunie, of Kew 
York State, fed the last season 901 head of sheep, 180 of which were 
merinos, the balance Canada Leicesters, and they were sold for 812,049. 

To test the comi^arative profit of feeding the two kinds of sheep, Mr. 
Winnie set apart CO Leicesters and 61 merinos, which were weighed Feb- 
ruary 10. The merinos were chosen from 600, and they were the best of 
their kind. They were kept till March 28, or 46 days. The following is 
the result : 

Pounds. 

February 10, 60 coarse wools weighed 8, 870 

March 28, 60 coarse wools weighed 9, 878 

Gain in 46 days 1, 008 

Total cost of feed, (hay, grain, oatmeal, roots, &c.,) for 46 days $174 43 

Pounds. 

February 10, 61 sheep fine wools weighed 6, 909 

March 28, 61 sheep fine wools weighed 7, 389 

Gain in 46 days 480 

Total cost of feed as above 8144 78 



If the coarse wooled sheep gained 1,008 pounds at a cost of 8174 43, 
the merinos ought to have gained 836 pounds at a cost of $144 78 for 
feed — whereas they gained only 480 pouiuls, or little more than half in 
proportion to cost. 

As comi^ared Avith liA^e weight, the coarse wools gained llj per cent, 
in the 46 days, and the merinos not quite 7 per cent. 

In Brighton market, the day before Christmas in 1839, there were only 
400 sheep offered for sale, while the same day, in 1859, 5,400 sheep Avere 
sold in the same market. Fine AAOoUed sheep sold from $1 50 to 84 50, 
while Leicesters sold from $11 ui)Avards, and in 1866, in the same market, 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 121 

Leicesters sold from $10 to 81G per head. In Cleveland, tliis spring, I 
know one farmer wlio sold 24 Leicester slieep to the butcher for $12 50 
a head. 

In one market in England, in Norwich, there are sold every Saturday 
from 0,000 to 8,000 hoggets or yearling sheep, and they sell from $12 50 
to $14 50 a head. These are mostly what we call half-bred — that is, 
some dark faced Down ewe, crossed by a Leicester or Cotswold ram. 
This makes better mutton than pure Leicester or Cotswold, the meat is 
not so fat, and the grain is finer, and the half-bred wool is valued in 
England as highly as any kind. 

Now, although it may be most profitable to keep combing woolled 
sheep, yet it won't do for every one to go into it indiscriminately. Men 
who wish to have large flocks of sheep — say several thousand — or even 
a thousand in a flock, ought not to keep these sheep, but will do better 
with the merino. Men li\ing on the i)rairies ought not to keep them, for 
the prairies Avill not grow combing wool. But I think they should in 
many parts of Kentucky, Ohio, the hills of Pennsylvania and New York, 
and in Maine, and in many parts of New England, and in best parts of 
Michigan. And in particular I would suggest to those farmers who liaA'e 
now in many of the States coarse native sheep, whose wool is common, 
and does not yield much combing or delaine, that if they would cross 
these sheep with a Leicester or Cotswold ram — I like the Leicester best — 
in one year they would receive more than 50 -per cent, for their outlay,- 
for their sheep would be larger, and their wool would jield x>robably 20 
per cent, more delaine, or combing, which sells for more and seUs quicker, 
and follow this cross up for a few years, and they might, with very little 
expense, improve the breed of all such slieep. I do not recommend them 
to buy very costly rams for common i:>urposes. Let men who make 
breeding a business buy the fancy bucks. 

I would not recommend the farmers in the far west, or in very new 
countries, to keep these sheep, for in such places the breed is apt to run 
out, and the wool becomes brashy and hairy, and of very little value. I 
think Michigan well-adapted for delaine wools of the medium gTades. 
In that branch I have always classed her next to Ohio. Any farmers 
wanting combing woolled sheep can now find them in many parts of the 
States as well as Canada. I think Burdett Loomis, esq., of Windsor 
Locks, Connecticut, has some of the best sheep in the country, and F. 
W. Stone, esq., of Guelph, Ontario, has a great variety of sheep, and is 
a large dealer in long- woolled sheep. 

Mr. Shields, of Newark, Licking county, Ohio, has tried the experiment 
on a small scale of keeping these sheep, and has proved it a great suc- 
cess. I saw his wool, and it was equal to any wool I ever saw an;y^^here. 
He says it is far more profitable to raise these sheep than the merinos, 
indei)endent of the great advantage of having so much quicker and surer 
a market for both wool and mutton. 

Yours, truly, JOSEPH WALWORTH. 

Messrs. Thomas McGraw & Co., Detroit. 



APPENDIX E. 

WOOLLEN xMAXUFACTURES IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The number of sets of macliiuery or series of cards — a set forming the 
unit for calculation in woollen machinery — emi)loyed in the United States, 
reported to the ^N'ational Association of Wool Manufactm^ers, on the 25th 
of October, 1865, was 4,100. The estimated number in the United States, 
as all AYcre not reported at that time, was 5,000. The distribution and 
weekly consumj^tion of foreign and domestic wool api)ear in the follow- 
ing table: 

Statement of aggregate results^ obtained up to October 25, 1865, in reply to 
circulars of February 24 and May 30, 1865, addressed to tvool manu- 
facturers. 



States. 



Maine 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Rhode Island 

Connecticut 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania : 

Philadelphia 

Remainder of the State 

Delaware 

Maryland 

West Virginia 

Ohio 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Michigan 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri 

Kentucky 

Kansas 

California 

Oregon 

Nebraska Territory 



40 
69 
39 

186 
61 
88 

154 
11 

24 

57 
6 
1 



m 



44 

47 

22 

20 

13 

1 

15 

10 

7 

1 



Total, October 25, 1865 917 



177 
361 
112 
1,467 
340 
452 
576 
64 

68 
90 
15 



83 

103 

47 

26 

25 

2 

43 

21 

14 

3 



3 ^ 



« b 



93, 835 
217, 110 

50, 217 
857, 496 
188, 775 
252, 880 
236, 510 

33, 660 

88, 200 

39, 054 

14, 050 

5,400 



i ^ 






4,100 



32, 615 
51, 200 
23, 355 

9,660 
10, 800 

1, 200 
17, 658 
16, 650 

6,600 

1.620 



4,000 



74, 120 
174, 841 

32, 652 
560, 396 
152,967 
125, 486 
174, 536 

25, 238 

68, 650 

39, 054 

13, 050 

2,700 



32, 615 
51, 200 
23, 355 

9,660 
10, 800 

1, 200 
17, 658 
16, 650 

6,600 

1,620 



Cii 



19, 715 
42, 299 
17, 565 

297, 100 
35, 808 

127, 394 

61, 974 

8,422 

19, 550 



1,000 
2, 700 



4,000 



2, 252, 545 



1,619,038 



191 

19J 

35 

3U 

19 

50^ 

26J 

25 

22J 



n 

50 



633, 497 28i 



530 
601 
448 
585 
555 
559 
411 
526 

],297 
434 
937 
675 



392 
497 
497 
372 
432 
600 I 
411 I 
793 ; 
400 j 
540 



1,000 



11 
28 
19 
74 
15 
43 
124 
7 

98 

69 

4 

2 

] 
34 
41 
13 
12 
6 
2 

6 
4 
7 
2 

1 
1 



550 



624 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 



123 



Tlie value of tlie woollen manufacture is sliown in the following : 

TaMe showing tlie value of icoollen goods mamifactured in the United States 
for the year ending June 30, 1864. 

[Calculated from official report of United States Commissioner of Internal Revenue.] 



States. 






^.2 



S o 



J ^ S t- 



^ o o <* 



■•- o 






3 O V, 



i a 



Total. 



Maine 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Rhode Island 

Connecticut 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

Delaware 

Maryland 

West Virginia 

Kentucky 

Missouri 

Ohio 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Michigan 

Wisconsin 

Iowa 

Minnesota 

Kansas 

California 

Oregon 

Nebraska Territorv. 



$3, 238, 

9, 044, 

3, 145, 

38, 905, 

2, 963, 

11, 873, 

10, 850, 

2, 752, 

13, 022, 

548, 

450, 

58, 

117, 

72, 

1,315, 

545, 

341, 

118, 

104, 

102, 

8, 

14, 

538, 

128, 



098 67 

762 00 
933 67 
399 00 
154 33 

763 67 
180 00 
652 00 
447 33 
134 67 
385 33 
486 GO 
534 33 
980 00 
243 00 
128 33 
907 00 
094 00 
457 67 
815 67 
696 00 
947 67 
956 00 
620 67 

45 67 



$238, 

34, 

562, 

800, 

7, 668, 

3, 913, 

2, 214, 

25, 

3, 502, 



385 00 
915 00 
788 00 
531 33 
531 67 
965 00 
802 67 
361 67 
190 00 



, 720 67 

261, 014 33 

78, 912 33 

912, 792 33 

70 33 

75, 076 00 



1, 526 67 

5,267 00 

242, 370 67 

2, 364 00 

85, 634 67 

11,794 33 

11,384 00 

33,754 33 

860 00 

15, 489 67 

450 00 



1, 692 67 
5, 793 33 



$3, 476, 

9, 079, 

3, 708, 

40, 603, 

10, 892, 

15, 866, 
13, 977, 

2, 778, 

16, 599, 
548, 
451, 

63, 
359, 

75, 
1, 400, 
558, 
359, 
151, 
105, 
118, 
9, 

14, 
538, 
128. 



483 67 
677 00 
721 67 
651 00 
700 33 
641 00 
775 00 
084 00 
713 33 
134 67 
912 00 
753 00 
905 00 
344 00 
877 67 
615 33 
084 33 
848 33 
317 67 
305 33 
146 00 
947 67 
956 00 
620 67 
45 67 



Total. 



121, 868, 250 33 



THE PACiriC MILLS, LAWEENCE, MASSACHUSETTS. 
Paper presented at the Paris Exposition, 

This paper is a statement written in response to a call from a jury of 
the Paris Exposition for distinct illustrations concerning "persons, estab- 
lishments, and localities, which, by a special organization or special insti- 
tutions, have developed a spirit of harmonj- among all those co-operating 
in the same work, and have provided for the material, moral, and intel- 
lectual well-being of the workmen." 

"Pacific mills" is the corporate name of a joint-stock company devoted 
to the manufacture, from the raw staples, of ladies' diess goods of cot- 



124 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

ton wholly, of worsted wholly, aud of cotton and wool combined, and 
the i)rinting and dyeing of the same. It is located in La^Tcnce, State 
of Massachnsetts, United States of America, 26 miles from Boston. Its 
post office address is, " Pacific Mills, LaAvrence, Massachusetts, United 
States of America." 

J. Wiley Edmands, Boston, is the treasm^er of the company, and Wm. 
C. Chapin, of Lawrence, the local agent or manager. The management 
is confided by about 150 stockholders to nine directors, chosen annually. 

The original number of shares of the comi^any was 1,000, costing 
$1,000, or 5,000 francs, each, making a total capital of $1,000,000, or 
5,000,000 francs. The cost of the buildings and machinery having ex- 
ceeded this sum, 1,500 shares more, at same cost, were issued, making 
the total number of shares to be 2,500, and the cost of the capital 
$2,500,000, or 12,500,000 francs. 

They commenced operations near the close of the year 1853, but no 
goods were ready for market until the spring of 1851. The amount of 
machinery then consisted of 1,000 looms, vdih carding, spinning, and 
dressing machinery sufficient to supply them, together with combing 
machines and spinning for worsted yarn, used in the manufactiu-e of 
mixed fabrics, and was equal to the production of about 200,000 yards 
weekly of calicoes and moussehne de laines, with 10 printing machines 
for preparing these goods for market. 

The buildings and machinery have been since increased, so that there 
are now in operation about 100,000 spindles for spinning cotton, ^vith 
cleaning, picking, and carding machines to supply them, and about 
16,000 spindles for worsted, with all the necessary preparing machines 
to occupy 3,500 looms for weaving the two classes of goods above named 
and others, together with 18 printing machines, i)roducing a weekly aver- 
age of about 700,000 yards. The machinery is propelled by eight tur- 
bine wheels, six of them being 72 inches in diameter, and two 81 inches in 
diameter, mth a fall of water equal to 26 feet, yielding 1,500 horse-power. 

The average sale of the manufactured goods of the company for a few 
years past exceeded $7,500,000, or 37,500,000 francs. About 3,600 work- 
people are now emj)loyed by the comi)any. Of these there are 1,680 
men, 1,510 women, 80 boys betAveen 10 and 12 years, 140 boys from 12 
to 18 years, 40 giils from 10 to 12 years, and 150 girls fi^om 12 to 18 
years. 

In the origin of the establishment the i)rinciple was adopted by the 
managers that there was to be a mutual dependence between employers 
and employed, each having rights which the other should respect, and 
that, inasmuch as the success of the proprietors must depend much upon 
the cheerfid and intelligent co-operation of the work-x)eople, certain 
plans were adopted to secure "the material, moral, and intellectual Avel- 
fare of the workmen," both as a duty to them and one of self-interest to 
the proprietors. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 125 
MATERIAL WELFARE OF WORKMEN. 

For the material well-being of tlie laborers, special care Avas used iii 
the original construction of the workrooms to make them cheerful, com- 
fortable, and well ventilated, so as to avoid, as far as possible, the 
uni^leasant drudgery of work, and to secure order and neatness through- 
out. Houses Avere constructed for dwellings which should give to fam- 
ilies residences at moderate cost of rent, that would secure the health 
and comfort of the work-people, while they were cheerfid and attractive. 
Men i)ay for these houses a weekly rent about equal to one-eighth of 
their wages. Large buildings were erected for the use of single females 
whose residences were at a distance, and divided into 17 large apart- 
ments, capable of accommodating 825 x^^^i'sons in the aggregate. The 
rooms are arranged for two persons each, well ventilated and lighted, 
and comfortably fiu^nished. Unmarried men are never allowed %o lodge 
in these houses, nor in any case a married man, except he is accdlnpanied 
by his wife, and then but rarely. Females pay about one-third of their 
average wages for rooms in these boarding-houses, including food, lights, 
and washing. Fuel for fires in their rooms is an extra exi)ense. It is 
common to provide coal, and sometimes floiu^, to the work-people at the 
cost price of large quantities. 

Another effort for the material welfare of the operatives was adopted 

in the earliest history of the enterprise, and has been continued for 

nearly 13 years, with marked success, doing much to promote ^'harmony 

among all those co-operating," and to establish a bond of sympathy and 

'union. 

An association was formed, called ''Pacific Mills Relief Society," of 
which each i)erson employed by the company must be a member, the 
entire management thereof being in the hands of the work-people, each 
ofi&cer being chosen by themselves from their own number, excepting 
the president, which office has always been filled by the resident agent 
or manager, who rarely acts, however, excei)t as counsellor or uminre. 

Each x)erson on commencing service elects Avhether he shall pay two, 
four, or six cents per week to the relief fund, the lower sum being a lit- 
tle more than j^oth x>art of the weekly average wages of those who are 
the youngest, and consequently least paid, and the highest sum, six cents 
weekly, bearing the same proportion to the average weekly wages of the 
entire body of work-people. When the sum in the hands of the treas- 
urer of the society, Avho is always the confidential clerk of the company, 
and keeps the deposit with the comi^any for protection, has reached the 
sum of $1,000, the Aveekly subscription of aU persons Avho have been 
emx)loyed by the comi)any three months ceases, while it continues with 
the new comers. 

This condition of funds occurs so often tliat for nearly one-half of the 
time the older employes are not assessed, and the real sum withdrawn 
from their wages annually is a very small i)roportion of their wages, and 
is far from being a burden to the poorest. 



126 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

AYIien a person lias been in the employ of the company three months, 
and, consequently, for that time paid his elected sum to the funds of the 
relief society, he becomes a full member of that society, and entitled to 
certain i^rivileges. If sickness occurs, i^re venting him from labor, and 
he sends notice to the overseer, or head workman of his room, one of 
the appointed stewards is sent to learn the nature of the illness, and 
the sick one becomes the special clmrge of this steward, who, for a man, 
is one of his own sex, or, if a female, a woman, and it is this steward's 
duty to see that a muse and i^hysician are secured, if necessary, and to 
draw from the wardrobe of the society such changes of personal and 
bed linen as the circumstances demand. 

Each sick person, if the illness continues one week, is thenceforward 
granted an allowance from the/unds of the society. He who has paid 
two cents per Aveek for at least three months receives 81 25 weekly for 
the period of 26 weeks, if sick so long. Double this sum is allowed if 
foiu' cents have been paid, and $3 75 when the amount i^aid has been 
six cents weekly. In cases of special need the officers of the society are 
authorized to make an extra allowance, though great care is used in 
such a dispensation. Those who die i^oor have their funeral expenses 
paid, and are respectably buried in the beautiful lot in the city cemetery 
belonging to the society. In some cases the deceased has been sent to 
his native town by the desire of his friends, mthout cost to them, if they 
were poor. 

Sick members are often accompanied to their friends by a steward, or 
the overseer of their Avork-room, when too feeble to go alone, or the 
friends too poor to come for them. The blessings of this society are 
thus made known to i)arties at a distance, and it often induced persons 
of excellent character to seek employment of this company, while those 
who have secured the benefits of the relief society retain it in Avarm 
remembrance. More than one poor mother, Avhose only child, while a 
member of this society, has been disabled by sickness, has found the 
weekly allowance an invaluable aid to her slight income, and called 
loudly for blessings upon its officers and the institution with such a 
work of merciful kindness. Many a father and mother, or other relative, 
whose child or friend has been sent to this company, have besought the 
blessings of Heaven upon the members of this society, vrho haxe cared 
for their absent ones in the time of sickness, and soothed them as they 
have faded away from life. 

Though there is not space for details of great interest, it must be seen 
that this plan has a direct tendency to iiromote sympathy for each other 
among the work-people, and to secure a bond of imion. Most surely 
those who daily observe its workings see it. 

It wiU also be noticed that a very important feature of this i)lan is 
that it is an association of the work-people themselves, wholly controlled 
by them, and conseciuently sure of permanency Avhile favored to its pres- 
ent extent by the employers. This is likely to continue, because they 
witness its important influence and usefiUness. 



WOOL AXD MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 127 

The total amount of money expended for the benefit of sick members 
in 12 years of its existence, ending in April, 1800, has been $25,530 08, 
or 127,053 francs, to 1,808 persons, and the amount i)aid to the fund in 
the same time has exceeded this sum about $1,200. The corporation 
contributes weekly to this fund, and also to meet individual cases which 
are specially aggravated. 

MORAL WELFARE OF WORIOEEN. 

To meet the protection of the large number of single females em- 
ployed by the company, who, as is often the fact in the manirtacturing 
establishments of the United States, and perhaps elsewhere, are away 
from the guardianship of their friends, the boarding-houses referred to 
above are controlled by persons carefully selected for their ability to 
influence this class of work-i)eoi)le, and for their established good char- 
acter, Avho will take an interest to secui^e the comfort of their boarders, 
and save them from bad moral influences, acting really, as far as pos- 
sible, in the place of guardians. If a young female is kno^^ai to visit 
places of evening amusement of doubtful character, or gives any reason 
for susx)icion that she is guilty of immorality, or even of careless, un- 
guarded conduct, she is admonished, and if reform is not immediate she 
is discharged from the house and from employment. The doors of the 
house are locked at 10 o'clock at night, and no one allowed to be out 
after that hour Tvithout a satisfactory excuse. Doubtless persons of 
immoral character secure employment by the company, and by superior 
secresy retain this connection. Among so large a niunber some will be 
imi^iu^e, but it is believed that very few of these females are led astray 
while connected with the mill, if virtuous Avlien commencing work. It 
is impossible for an openly vile person to retain connection with the 
comx^any. 

Men of intemperate habits, or of general bad character, are excluded 
from the comi)any's service, though i^atience with them is encouraged, 
with the hope of securing reform j and this forbearance, and attendant 
labor, has often been rewarded. It is an established j)rincii)le that all 
profanity or other bad language, and any bad example or severe use of 
authority among the head workmen, must be strictly avoided, especially 
when these overseers have in their charge females or young persons. 
More than one such responsible Avorkman has been removed for using 
improper words or ill-treating his subortlinates. It is absolutely demanded 
of these persons that they treat those under them as they would desire 
to be treated themselves if in their position. 

The directors have placed their associate, the manager, at the works 
to represent their feelings to the work-i)eoplej to show them sympathy 
in their trials, to counsel them in their need of advice, and to be their 
friend. 

Careful eftbrts have been made by him to secure their confidence, and 
he has cultivated the conviction that they could ever find in him a father, 



128 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

brother, or friend. Many hearts have been moved to earnest gratitude 
for the aid which they have thns secured in their time of need. It requires 
a vast amount of patient listening" to comphiints, to tales of sorrow and 
want; but it has had its reward in seeing so many relieved, made glad 
and hopeful. 

Tlie real moral effect, and the real satisfaction in such a relation 
between emj^loyer and employed, cannot be written. The spirit of the 
employer is imparted to the more resi)onsible and influential workmen, 
and to those under them, while a healthy moral condition is secured. 

INTELLECTUAL WELFARE OF WORICMEN. 

When the company was iirst established the directors api)ropriated 
$1,000, or 5,000 francs, for the purchase of suitable books for a cii^cu- 
lating library, and i)royided a suitable room for it on their premises. 
The work-people haA^e always been required to pay one cent each week 
during their service, and they thus become members of the "Pacific 
Mills Library Association," which is managed entirely by themselves, 
they choosing their own of&cers for the control of its affairs and for the 
selection of books, but selecting the resident manager for the president 
and chairman of the library committee. This weekly pajTuent seciu^es 
the privilege of the use of the library and reading-rooms of the society. 
One room is appropriated to males, and is sui^i^hed with the local news- 
X^apers of the city, and of Boston and New York, together with luimer- 
ous serials of a scientific and literary character, and is open from 6 
o'clock a. m. till 9 o'clock ]}. m., warmed and lighted. It is in close 
proximity to the other room containing the library, now exceeding 1,000 
volumes, and also a cheerful, airy, comfortable apartment for the females, 
which is carpeted, and made attractive by daily and Aveekly publications 
especially adapted to their wants, and stereoscopes with numerous slides, 
all in charge of an intelligent and cultivated young lady. It is open 
from o'clock a. m. till 9 o'clock p. m., and is much frequented and 
valued. 

A large number of volumes of the library are in constant circulation, as 
the number of the work-people Avho cannot read or write does not exceed 
50 in 1,000, and these are miiversally of foreign birth. All new i)ubli- 
cations adapted to this class of readers are bought as soon as i)ublished. 
The privilege of taking books from the library is extended to members 
of families whose head is a member of the association. The funds of 
the society are also used to purchase tickets of admission to kx'tures 
and suitable popular amusements, which are distributed among the 
members. 

This association, as well as the relief society, it will be seen, is sup- 
ported and managed by the work-i)eople themselves, who secure a valu- 
able return for their small outlay, and also the permanency of its opera- 
tion, avoiding the dei)endence for existence and usefidness upon the life, 
or even connection, of any one person of special prominence. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF AVOOL. 129 

A law of the State forbids the employment of children nnder 10 years, 
and requires that children employed between 10 and 12 years of age 
shall be in school 16 weeks in each year, and those between 12 and 16 
years 11 weeks. The company contributes annually to the supj)ort of 
an evening school for both sexes. 

SUCCESS OF THIS CO-OPERATIVE ORGANIZATION. 

It has often been stated that care of employers for the elevation and 
welfare of their operatives, especially to the extent herein shown, is 
incompatible with pecuniary success. Facts prove that this is not true 
with the Pacific mills, but others must determine how much of this is 
due to the i^rinciples of action established and maintained. 

It is also believed that the work-people have received great benefit. 

Some of the evidences of this are the following: 

1. There have been no strikes among the work-people, Avliich are their 
curse, and the dread of emi)loyers. They have been encouraged to feel 
that any grievances wiU be patiently listened to, and frankly discussed, 
and the result has always been favorable to good order. 

By no means has every uneasy spirit been quieted, but the mass has 
been satisfied. 

2. A higher class of workmen has been secured. Those best able to 
appreciate the privileges enjoyed in connection with this company have 
been drawn thither for employment. Specially is this true among the 
overseers, who engage the laborers in their different dei)artments, and 
give character to the mass. Their intelligence and hearty co-operation 
in the plans for the material, moral, and inteUectual advancement of the 
ox^eratives, moulds the whole, and secures a higher standard. The gen- 
eral influence of the principles adopted by the company leads these prom- 
inent workmen to feel that they are intrusted with a degree of guardian- 
shii) of those under them, and this feeling is very manifest. Eespect for 
the manhood of a workman moulds him. 

3. Many of the work-people have invested their funds in savings banks, 
and this is specially encouraged. Formerly the comj^any received deposits 
themselves from the work-people, allowing an annual interest of six i>er- 
cent. ; but for some prudential reasons this plan was abandoned, and the 
depositors encouraged to invest in chartered banks. The company held 
in their hands at one time more than $100,000, or 500,000 francs, of the 
earnings of their work-people, which has been changed into other channels. 
There is no doubt that their deposits now exceed this sum largely. 

4. Quite a number of the work-people own houses free of debt, while 
others have been partially assisted by the company, it reserving a portion 
of their wages each month in reduction of the debt. More than $50,000, 
or 250,000 francs, are thus invested. 

5. Others invest their funds in the bonds of the United States govern- 
ment in preference to sa\ings banks. 

6. Several of the workmen are owners of the stock of the company, and 

9 w 



130 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

have tlie same rights iu regard to the control of the officers and general 
management as other stockholders. Their stock has now a market value 
exceeding $(30,000. 

7. Investment of earnings in premiums on life insurance has been made 
by many of the workmen. 

8. More than one of the workmen has been a member of the city gov- 
ernment in its board of aldermen and common council, and not an annual 
election i)assed ^nthout the choice of one, or more, to some of these 
important offices. 

0. The pecuniary success of the comx)any has warranted a liberal spirit 
in the payment of wages to the work-people. The least sum now paid in 
weekly wages to the youngest emi)loye is $1 82, gold, a little more than 
9 francs, and the number belonging to this class is very small. Boys of 
16 years do not receive less than $2 85, gold, weeldy, or more than 14 
francs. 

The least amount paid weekly to men is $6 75, gold, or nearly 34 francs, 
while a very large majority receive much more. Females receive from 
$2 48, gold, weekly, or about 12.50 francs for the least, to $6 72, gold, or 
more than 33 francs j while a fcAV earn more. This excepts young girls, 
whose wages are the same as the least sum named above. Spinners, 
weavers, and a few others are paid in accordance with their product, 
some of them earning very large wages. 

The stockholders, as pre\aously stated, have mvested $2,500,000 in the 
comi^any. Duruig the past 12 years they have received in dividends 
more than $3,000,000, and the fixed property has cost a much larger sum 
than the amount of the capital stock. The treasurer furthermore holds 
in his possession a very large amount of undivided earnings with which 
to purchase cotton, wool, and other materials, for cash. 



APPENDIX F. 

THE WOOLLEN AND WORSTED TRADE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 

Description and statistics from the third report of the commissioners ap- 
pointed to inquire into the best means of preventing the pollution of rivers^ 
(rivers Aire and Calder^ J presented to both houses of Farliament by com- 
maiid of her Majesty, 1807. 

A glance at table D of tlie interesting and valuable returns (page 
134) will inform tbe reader that woollen and worsted products to the 
extent of 384,200,000 pounds in weight, and of a value of £64,400,000 
sterling, are annually sent out of the mills of Great Britain. 

The West Kiding of Yorkshire is not the only district in which this 
vast industry is located, but it may safely be taken that from one-half 
to two-thirds of the woollen and worsted trade is carried on there. 

This trade is of ancient date in England. The Eomans had weaving 
establishments of woollen cloth at Winchester, where the copious springs 
from chalk afforded means both for i)ower and for washing and dyeing. 
The mother of Alfred the Great is recorded to have been skilled in spin- 
ning wool. Flemish woollen weavers settled in England about the time 
of the l!^orman conquest, and continued immigration of woollen weavers 
from Flanders took i)lace in the reigns of Henry I, Henry III, Edward 
I, and Edward III. The Avoollen tissues first spun and woven at Worsted 
in Norfolk, about the year 1388, became the staple trade of Norwich. 
Devonshire manufactured woollens soon after the introduction of the 
trade into England, and Worcestershire a little later. Friezes were also 
early manufactTu^ed in Wales. In the middle of the sixteenth century 
Berkshire took the lead in woollen manufacture. 

About the middle of the last century the West Riding of Yorkshire 
became the seat of the worsted and woollen trades. Halifax began to 
be specially noted for kerseys. From about this date these trades find- 
ing so much water available, not only for power, but also for washing, 
dyeing, scouring, fulling, and all other purjioses, the Yorkshire manu- 
facturers and traders were enabled to undersell those of other places. 

The rivers Aire and Calder were made navigable by act of Parliament 
about the year 1698, and have from time to time been improved so as to 
meet and supi)ly the requirements of a growing trade. This navigation 
has such advantages and has been so ably managed up to this date that 
it successfully competes with the established railways. 

It is of the utmost importance to study the rise, progress and con- 
dition of any manufacture, especially if it has changed its locality. Suc- 
cessful trade is generally contingent upon local natural advantages 
which forethought and care may imi)rove, or which continued abuse may 
deteriorate and even ultimately destroy. The West Eiding of York- 



132 PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

sliire, and especially the Aire and Calder district, possesses many natu- 
ral advantages favorable to the establishment and conduct of trades 
requiring- good water. A range of mountains composed principally of 
scar, limestone, and Yoredale rocks, capped with millstone grit, forms 
the western boundary, and sends down numerous spring-fed rividets and 
streams to wind and flow over the entire breadth of this portion of the 
county. The graduated fall affords means of obtaining water j^ower, 
and the numerous valleys offer favorable sites for storage reservoirs. 
The vast nimibers of mills and dyeworks (upAvards of 5,000) established 
since the commencement of the i^resent century, and the rapid growth 
of the worsted and woollen trades of the West Eiding, clearly indicate 
that the natural advantages of this part of Yorkshire are great. There 
are not only spring and river water, but there is also cheap fuel obtained 
from the local coal field, enabling the manufactiu-ers to supi>lement water 
power Avith steam, and in numerous instances to obtain all the power 
required from steam alone. Abuses in the district by throwing solids 
into running waters and by pollution have, however, become in some 
cases destructive to trade, and in numerous cases prohibitive to farther 
extensions, some branches of trade ha\dng migrated to Scotland, where 
water less polluted is obtainable. 

The various processes to which water is put in cleansing wool and in 
manufacturing woollens and worsteds, may be stated as follows : 

1. Scoiuing the wool with a ley and hot water to remove grease and 
dirt. 

2. Washing with clean cold Avater. 

3. Dyeing when the cloth is to be wool-dyed. 

4. Scouring cloth with fuller's earth to remove oil and size. 

5. Dyeing when jDiece-dyed. 

6. Milling or fulling with soap and warm water, either in the fidling 
stocks or in the imi)roA'ed milling machines, where the cloth is squeezed 
between rollers. 

7. Scouiing to remove the soap. 

8. Boiling cloth to give it a permanent face. 

9. Steaming to take away the liability of the finished cloth to spot. 
Dirty Avater may be used for poAver, but CA^en for such purpose it is a 

nuisance, and for Avashing and dyeing water may be so polluted as to be 
injiu'ious even to dark and coarse goods, and totally unfitted for cleans- 
ing and dyeing fine fabrics. , 
The vast interests involved in the wool, woollen, and worsted trades 
of Great Britain are set forth in the folloAving statistical tables kindly 
furnished to the commission by Mr. Jacob Behrens, Aice-president of 
the Chamber of Commerce of Bradford. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 



133 



Table A. — Estimate of the produce of wool in the United Kingdom from 
25,795,708 sheep ^ based upon a return made for Great Britain on the 5th 
of Marchy 1866, and for Ireland in 1865. 



In England 

In Wales 

In Scotland 

in Ireland 

Isle of Man and Channel islands . . 



Total. 



Under one year old hoggets. . 

Lambs killed and clipped 

Lambs killed and not clipped 



Total. 



Number of sheep. 



Under one 
year old. 



4, 505, 345 

380, 854 

1, 624, 638 

1, 048, 491 

24, 410 



7, 583, 817 



5, 583, 817 
1, 000, 000 
1,000,000 



One year old 
and above. 



10, 620, 196 

1, 287, 809 

3, 630, 439 

2, 640, 251 

33, 196 



18, 211, 891 



Weight per 
fleece. 



Pounds. 
6k 
5* 
6i 
6 



Wool pro- 
duced. 



Pounds. 
69,031,274 

7, 082, 250 

23, 597, 853 

1.5, 841, 506 

215,774 



33, 503, 293 
3, 000, 000 



152, 272, 650 



Mem. — The number of sheep in Ireland under one year old is supposed to bear the same proportion to the 
whole number as that given in the return for Great Britain. 

Table B. — Estimate of the quantity and value of icool and similar 
materidl icorlced up in icorsted and ivoollens. 



Articles. 



English wool 

Foreign wool 

Goats' hair or wool. 
Home-made shoddy 
Imported shoddy. . . 

Wool extracts 

Foreign yarn 

Total 



Produce and 
imports. 



152, 272, 650 
206, 473, 045 

4, 737, 330 
52, 000, 000 
22, 482, 880 

5, 000, 000 
4, 479, 984 



447, 445, 889 



Exports. 



7, 320, 299 
55, 993, 803 



63, 254, 102 



Retained 
for home con- 
sumption. 



144, 952, 351 
150, 539, 242 

4, 737, 330 
52, 000, 000 
22, 482, 880 

5, 000, 000 
4, 479, 984 



384, 191, 787 



Price per 
pound. 



d. 

4i 
6^ 



£ s. 

2 

1 

2 8* 

5 

4i 

6 

4 6 



Value. 



£17,213,075 

11, 123, 905 

650, 191 

1, 083, 334 

494,611 

125, 000 

1,008,004 



31, 698, 120 



Mem.— Imports, exports, and values from Board of Trade tables for 1864, except quantity of English 
wool, for which see A, 

Table C. — The exports of ivools, tissues , and yams, and the quantity of 
foreign wool tvorlced tip in the years 1844, 1854, and 1864. 



Description. 



1844. 



1854. 



1864. 



Exports of English wools 

Exports of worsted yarns 

Exports of wool tissues 

Exports of British produce 

Foreign wool retained for home consumption lbs 



£535, 134 
958, 217 

8, 204, 836 
50, 642, 306 
63, 741, 087 



£734, 490 

1, 557, 459 

9, 121, 186 

97, 092, 308 

81, 654, 711 



£673, 446 

5, 417, 377 

18, 533, 457 

160, 449, 053 

155, 276, 572 



134 



PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 



Comparative ])ereenta()e of the exports of worsted and woollen manufactures 
to the other textile fabrics in 18G4. 



Description. 



Value. 



Per cent. 



Exports of worsteds 

Exports of woollens 

Exports of cottons 

Exports of linen and jute 
Exports of silks 



Total. 



Total exports of British produce 



£16. 217, 898 

7, 732, 976 

54, 882, 329 

11, 636, 049 

2, 274, 927 



£92, 744, 179 



£160,449,053 



n7i 

■*^81 

59 

12i 

2* 



100 



* Six per cent. 



Table D. — Estimate of tlie value and weight of wool and similar material 
manufactured into tvorsted and woollen yarns and tissites hi the United 
Kingdom, 1864. 



Description. 



Pounds. 



Value. 



English wool, exported as yarns 

English wool, manufactured into tissues, 4s 

Foreign wool, manufactured into tissues, 3s 

Mohair wool, manufactured into tissues, 5s 

Foreign yarn, manufactured into tissues, 8s 

Shoddy and extracts, manufactured into tissues. Is. 
Cotton, yarn, and other material 



35,000,000 ' £5,500,000 



110, 000, 000 

150, 500, 000 

4, 700, 000 

4, 500, 000 

79, 500, 000 



22, 000, 000 
22, 600, 000 
1, 200, 000 
1, 800, 000 
4, 000, 000 
7, 300, 000 



Total 384, 200, 000 £64, 400, 000 



Table E. — Estimate of the value and weight in 1864 of the wool and similar 
material ivorlced tip loith it into worsted and woollens for export and home 
consumption} 



WORSTEDS. 



Description. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


EXPORTS. 
Yarns, (31,824,296 pounds,) equal in wool to 


35, 000, 000 
30, 000, 000 
14, 000, 000 

m, 000, 000 

4, 700, OOO 


£5, 417, 377 
7, 945, 633 


Goods, one-fourth mixed with other materials, £6,000,000, wool, 4s 


Goods, all wool, 4s 


2, 852, 815 

13, 200, 000 


HOME. 
Goods, mostly mixed with other material, 4s 


Goods of mohair, mostly mixed with other material, 5s 


1, 200, 000 


Cotton and other material worked up with the above, exclusive of exports 


2, 984. 175 








Total 


149 700 000 £3.'^ fiOf) (100 









' In this estimate all English wool is considered as worked up into worsted, and that which is worked up 
into woollens is supposed to be more than balanced by the foreign wool (Russian, Australian, and others) in 
worsteds. 



WOOL AND MANUFACTURES OF WOOL. 



135 



Table E — Continued. 



WOOLLENS. 



Description. 



EXPORTS. 



Goods, mixed with one-fourth of other material, £890,000, l.s. 
Goods, all wool, (foreign,) 3s 



Goods of foreign wool, 3s 

Goods of foreign yarns, 8s 

Goods, shoddy and extract, Is 

Cotton and other material mixed with wool 



Total. 



Pounds. 



18, 000, 000 
43, 500, 000 



107, 000, 000 

4, 500, 000 

61, 500, 000 



Value. 



£1, 186, 815 
6, 546. 161 



16, 000, 000 
1,800,000 
3, 200, 000 
2, 067, 024 



234, 500, 300 



30, 800, 000 



Under the name of slioddy, wliicli occurs so conspicuously in tlie 
foregoing tables, an enormous weight of material is used wliicli, until 
recently, was waste. Shoddy was first introduced into use about the 
year 1813, at Batley, near Dewesbmy. Mungo was adopted in the same 
district, but at a later period. Shoddy is the produce of soft woollen 
rags, such as old worn-out carpets, flannels. Guernseys, stockings, and 
similar fabrics. Mungo is the produce of worn-out broad or similar 
cloths of fine quality, as also of the shreds and clipijings of cloth. It was 
stated at our inquiry that the term arose in consequence of the diffi- 
culty at first of manij)ulation. A manufacturer gave some of the mate- 
rials to his foreman, who, after trial in the shoddy machines, came back 
with the remark, "Itwinnago;" when the master exclaimed, ''But it 
mun go ! ^' These Woollen rags are collected, packed in bales, and are 
imported from Eussia, Eg5T3t, Turkey, the entire area of Europe, India, 
China, and, in fact, from all parts of the world where woollen garments 
are worn, and rags produced and can be collected. They come to York- 
shire from districts where plague, fever, smaU-i)ox, and loathsome skin 
diseases extensively prevail. The bales are opened and the rags are 
sorted by human fingers before being placed in machines, which break 
up, tear, separate, and cleanse the fibre for manufocturing uses. Accord- 
ing to the evidence we obtained no disease has ever broken out among 
the persons Avho so manipulate these old woollen rags, although jn 
many of the countries in which they are collected they are believed to be 
peculiarly plague-bearing materials. The lapse of time in collecting, 
storing, and transmitting these rags, as also the possible destruction of 
any special poisons, by filction or otherwise, must be taken into account. 
The whole of the facts deserve, however, the serious attention of those 
persons who insist that the power of communicating disease is contained 
in a dangerous manner by woollen goods Avhich have been Avorn by per- 
sons suffering from contagious diseases. The experience obtained by 



13G PARIS UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION. 

the inauipiiliition of shoddy, for upwards of 50 years, proves that old 
woollen rags are not in any degree dangerous to the health of those who 
work among them. 

The sliodd}^ trade, as now carried on in the West Riding, is a remark- 
able instance of the utilization of waste material. The term '' shoddy" 
was, in the first instance, one of reproach, but this has ceased to be. 
Shoddy now enters into honorable companionship in ofiicial returns with 
British and foreign wools, mohair, silk, and cotton, and is used by 
manufacturers throughout the woollen and worsted districts. By recent 
returns (1866) the total weight of wool and goats' hair — of home and 
foreign growth — used, was about three hundred and ten millions of 
pounds ; the total weight of shoddy and extracts for the same period 
was about seventy-four and one-half millions of pounds, or some thirty- 
three and three-quarter thousand tons ; so that shoddy now forms near 
one-fifth, by weight, of the woollen and worsted manufactui-e of the 
district. The woollen trade of Great Britain could not be carried on to 
its present extent without shoddy. 

Shoddy is mixed with wool in proportions from one-third to two-thirds 
shoddy or mungo, and is used in the manufactiu'e of cheap broadcloths, 
fine cloths for ladies' capes and mantles, pilots, witneys, flushings, 
friezes, j)etersliams, duffels, houleys, ])addings, linings, cloths used for 
rough and loose great-coats, ofi&ce-coats, and trousers, pea-jackets, and 
blankets. A considerable quantity is used in the form of flocks for 
beds. Felted cloth is extensively manufactured; it dispenses A^tli 
spiimiug and weaving, depending on the felting i^roperty of wool by 
reason of the curl in the fibre. The process is carried on by the aid of 
warm moisture, pressure, and milling ; such cloth is used for table-covers, 
horse-cloths, carpets, paddings, druggets, and the coarser and thicker 
kinds for covering steam boilers, steam pipes, aud ships' bottoms beneath 
the copper. Some of the finer and better class of felted cloths are 
printed. 

The maiuifacture of shoddy and mungo need not produce any special 
l>ollution. The rags are torn into fibre by machines specially prepared, 
and the dirt, dust, and fine particles of wool are blown out in such 
manner that this refuse can be collected and sold for manure. About 
one-seventh, by weight, of shoddy is so cleaned out as Avaste in pre- 
paring it. The price obtained for it as manure varies from 10^. to 20s. 
l)er ton. Some of the richer sort of waste shoddy is sent into Kent as 
a dressing for hop-grooving. 



INDEX. 



A. 

Page 

Africa, annual production of wool in 18 

Agassiz, Professor, views on the effects of the crosses of races of men 91 

opinion of, in regard to the whiteness of animals 97 

Aix la-Chapelle, production of 61 

American goods, qualities of 21 

manufacturers, duties of 66 

American merino sheep, table of measurements of 72 

difference in from Spanish merino 73 

Paular family of 73 

Infantado family of 73 

washed wool of 78 

scoured fleeces of 78 

quality of wool of 79 

improvement in 74 

price of rams 75 

ram "Twenty-one per cent.," note 75 

increase of yolk in 76 

Ancyra, description of by Tournefort 94 

Angora, description of its goats by Tournefort 95 

number of goats in district of 99 

Angora goat, impracticability of crossing with common goat 1 05 

importance of acclimatizing the breed in this country 105 

effect of crossing black female with white-buck 98 

variety of shawl-wool goat 99 

power to resist extreme cold, but not moisture 97 

results of acclimation in Europe and America 99, 1 00 

differences between this and common goat 88 

Aniline colors, discovery of by Runge 43 

Perkins violet 43 

affinity of for materials of animal origin, or nitrogenized substances. 44 

stability of 44 

Annual French card wool production 34 

Annual production of wool in France 18 

Great Britain 18 

Spain, Italy, and Portugal 18 

Germany 18 

European Russia 18 

Australia, South America, and South Africa 18 

United States 18 

British North American provinces 18 

Asia 18 

Northern Africa 18 

Antiquity of the woollen trade in England 131 

Appian, mention of stuffs known as Kt?UKia by 87 

Appleton, Mr. Nathan, " History of the introduction of the power loom and the origin 

of Lowell," by 27 



138 INDEX. 

Page. 

Archil or orseille, a new kind introduced by MM. Guinon Marnas and Bonnet 42 

Asia, annual production of wool in 18 

Atwood, Stephen, Spanish merinos of 69, 70 

Australia, total production of wool in Ill 

annual production of wool in 18 

Austria, value and amount of production of 61 

fabrics of 19 

B. 

Bachman, Dr. John, reference to paper on Angora goat by 89 

Baird, Professor, opinion of affinity of Rocky mountain goat with antelope 84 

Bauendahl & Co., letter of to Mr. G. W. Bond in regard to mohair or goat's wool. . 104 

in Country Gentleman in regard to mohair — note 105 

Behrens, Mr. Jacob, statistical tables of 133 

Belgium, woollen industry of 60 

fabrics of 19 

Belon, Father, mention of Angora goat first by 87 

Benoville, M., treatise on woollen industry of France 44 

Bernstein, Michel, flock of 16 

BerthoUet, M. , work on dyeing by 39 

Bigelow, Mr. E. B., remarks of 30 

Billancourt, exhibition at 11 

Bowes Mr., statement in regard to Scotch cassimeres 15 

statement in regard to American merinos 10 

Bradford, manufactures of 63 

Brandt, M., description of the Angora goat by 82 

dimensions of specimen examined by 83 

argument of in support of his assertion in regard to the derivation of the 

domestic goat 85 

observations in regard to spinning Angora goat's hair 85 

British North American provinces, annual production of wool in 18 

Buenos Ayres, wools of 8 

C. 

Calico printing, foundation of 39 

Cape wools 8 

Capra, division of the genus by Cuvier 83 

division of the genus by recent zoologists 84 

Card-wool fabrics of various countries 20 

Carpets, American 22 

Brussels and tapestry 22 

Cashmere goat, note 84 

Cateau, immense establishment 55 

perfection of machinery and processes ... 56 

wages and condition of the workmen 56 

manufacture of imitation Cashmere shawls 57 

Centres of woollen industry in France, treatises by M. Randonig and M. Benoville.. 44 

Chapin, Mr., paper of, in regard to Pacific Mills 25 

Chemical Society in London, publications by 39 

Chenery, Mr. Winthop W., flock of Angora goats of, note 101, 102 

Cheviot sheep, character of 15 

character of wool of 14 

Chevreul, M., lectures of, to the artisans of Lyons 38 

Cloakings, Austrian 24 



INDEX. 139 

Page. 

Clothing wools, ability to j^row fine, in the United States 9 

Australian 8 

Silesian and Saxon 8 

production of, in the United States in 1 H6fi 9 

Colbert, regulations for dyeing wools 38 

Columella, no mention of Angora goat by 87 

Combing wools, growth of, in the United States 13 

price of English fleeces in 1855 and 1864 13 

profit of growing, in United States 14 

French and Australian 10 

present consumption of, in United States " 13 

English 13 

necessity of growth of, in United States 113 

extraordinary care taken in growth of, in England 112 

amount of, produced in Canada 113 

Combing-wool sheep, profit in keeping. Table by Mr. Winnie 120 

Comparative rates of interest in France, England, and United States, table of 30 

Competition between different countries in the growth of merino wool 119 

Consumption of wool in England at present time 110 

Crompton loom, the 20 

D. 

Dana, Dr., of Lowell, honorable mention of, by French savans 44 

Davis, Dr. J. B., importation of Angora goats by, in 1849 101 

De Kaeppilin, M., treatise on dyeing 39 

Des Farges, M., on the peculiarities of the French merino 12 

Designers of Elbeuf, peculiar character of their work 46 

Diehl, Mr., contribution on the Angora goat 90 

observations by.; on flocks of Angora goats in the southwestern States.. 101 

Domestic woollen industry identified with agricultural prosperity 32 

Dyeing, discoveries by Vauquelin, 39 

discoveries by Lassarque 39 

new process introduced by Loffet 39 

colors fixed by steam 40 

discovery by Mr. Steiner 40 

discovery of cheap process of manufacturing ultramarine by Guimet 40 

the use of madder and colors derived from it 40 

advantages resulting from the recent improvements in madder 41 

in France, and the contributions of modern science to the art 38 

Dyes in American carpets 22 

E. 

Echantilleurs, character of their work 46 

Elbeuf, separate establishments of 47 

statistics of Chamber of Commerce of 47 

prices of food in 48 

low tone of morality of workmen of 48 

centre of card-wool industry of France 45 

population and value of production of 45 

facilities for credit in 46 

Elder, Dr., statement of in regard to exportation of wool 32 

England, number of sheep per acre 6 

importation of wool in 1830 7 

importation of wool in 1 864 7 

annual production of wool in 13 

exportation of wool at present time 110 



140 INDEX. 

Page. 

English operatives, inferiority of technical education of 64 

Exposition, fabrics of 18 

F. 

Factory, system of New England 28 

Fibre, character of wool 18 

Fine wools, need of them in United States 115 

" Fitting sheep," fraudulent practice 77 

Flannels, opera 22 

' ' Fleece and Loom. " extract from 34 

Fleischman, Mr., on the results of constantly regenerating with the pure-blooded 

Merino ram 93 

France, sheep husbandry in 11 

superiority of her manufactures of wool 32 

exportation of woollen goods in 1855 and in 1 865 33 

principal centers of production of woollen fabrics 33 

products of, in class 29 33 

products of, in class 30 33 

exportation of card fabrics in 1865 34 

annual production of wool in 18 

exportation of woolen goods in 1861 and in 1863 110 

French Merinoes, character of 11 

Merinoes, change effected in 12 

taste, excellence of 36 

Full-blooded American Merino sheep 67 

G. 

Gayot, M., notice by on Merino ovine races exhibited at Billancourt 11 

Germania mills, goods of 23 

exhibition by • 24 

Germany, the woollen manufacture of the Zollverein 61 

annual production of wool in 18 

Great Britain, woollen manufacture in 62 

annual production of wool in 18 

Grove, Henry, importation of Saxon Merino sheep by -. 69 

Groups of French woollen industry 34 

H. 

Halifax, manufactures of 63 

Henry VIII, act in regard to city of York 63 

Huddersfield, manufactures of 63 

Humphries, Colonel, Merino sheep of 67 

Huskisson, Mr., on woollen manufactures of Great Britain 62 

I. 

Importance to American farmer of the production of combing wool sheep 121 

Importations of wool into Great Britain in 1830, 1862, and 1864 110 

Industrial society of Mulhouse, publications by 39 

Influence of Anglo-French treaty on French artists 65 

J. 

Jardin des Plantes, model and source of societies of natural history 81 

Jarvis, Mr. William, Merino sheep imported by 68 



IJ^DEX. 141 

K. 

Page. 

Kilogram, equivalent of 16 

Knit goods, manufacture of 23 

Knitting machines 23 

L. 

Labor, prices of here and abroad 31 

La Plata, fine wool of Ill 

Leeds, manufactures of 63 

Leicester sheep, price of in England and United States 121 

Lo-kao, Chinese green, introduction of •. 42 

M. 

Machinery, American 29 

Mazamet, workshop nurseries of 52 

Merino combing wools 10 

Negretti, race of 13 

Mission mills, San Francisco, exhibition of goods of 24 

Mohair, use of in the manufacture of Utrecht velvets 103 

use of in manufacture of shawls ]03 

use of in manufacture of lastiugs, cloakings, dress goods, &c J 03 

annual export of from Turkey 104 

price of per pound 104 

application of in the manufacture of fabrics 102 

Mousselines delaine, manufacture of 25 

Mungo, origin of the word 112 

introduction and use of 135 

N. 

National association of wool manufacturers, extract from report of 22 

report of 79 

Negrettis sheep, weight of fleece of 70 

Number of animals domesticated by man 81 

P. 

Pacific mills, success of co-operative organization 130 

wages of work people in 130 

medal awarded to 25 

Patent Office Agricultural Report, paper on Angora goat, by Dr. John Bachman 89 

Pood, equivalent of 16 

Portugal, annual production of wool in 18 

" Practical Shepherd," principles of breeding discussed in 92 

Price of Leicester or Cotswold sheep in England and United States 121 

Production of wood in England at present time 110 

Profit in keeping combing wool sheep, table by Mr. Winnie J 20 

Prussia, fabrics of 19 

Q- 

Quatrafages, M. de, discussion by on the formation of races 91 

R. 

Rambouillet, flock of Angora goats at 100 

Randall, Dr., observations on the principles of breeding 92 

Randonig, M., treatise by on woollen industry of France 44 

Relative cost of production of American and foreign fabrics 28, 29 

Region du Midi, centre of card wool industry of France 50 

towns which it comprises 51 



142 INDEX. 

Page. 

Region du Midi, production of peculiar fabrics for the Levant, for the army 51 

^ workshop nurseries of 52 

peculiar customs at Villeneuvette 52 

wages of workmen in 53 

Rhiems, centre of combing wool industry of France 53 

production of merino fabrics 53 

improvements in combing wool 53 

power loom applied to manufacture of merino fabrics 54 

the United States the outlet for its goods 55 

importance of manufacturing merino fabrics in United States 55 

wages and condition of workmen of 55 

Rivers Aire and Calder, pollution of water of 131 

Roubaix, the rival of Bradford 57 

history of its growth 57 

public sentiment of opposed to Anglo-French treaty 58 

excellent character of its fabrics 58 

fabrics of for women and children 59 

amount of wool consumed in 1843 ; amount of goods produced 59 

wages of workmen in 59 

Russia, fabrics of 20 

European, annual production of wool in 18 

vast scale of sheep husbandry in 16 

S. 

Sacc, M., opinion of on crossing Angora with common goat 89 

Saxon merino sheep, introduction of 69 

Saxony wool, importance of the growth of in this country 108, 109 

Sedan, manufactures in 49 

superiority of the moral tone of its workmen 49 

wages of workmen in 50 

Shawls, excellence of American 79 

Shoddy, manufacture of 19 

amount of manufactured 112 

introduction and use of 135, 136 

Silk-mixed goods, use of 23 

origin of 49 

Slater, Mr. , goods exhibited by 8 

South America, annual production of wooi in 18 

Spain, annual production of wool in 18 

Spanish merino sheep, importations of, by JohnT. Rich, Francis Rotch and Henry D. 

Grove 70 

weight of wool of 71 

table of measurements of 72 

faults and merits of 69, 70 

St. Hilaire Geoffrey, assent of, to opinions of M. Brandt and M. Sacc 86 

Strabo, no mention of Angora goat by 87 

Stursberg, Mr. H., medal awarded to 24 

Symons, Mr., statement of, in regard to woollen manufacture of the United Kingdom. 63 

T. 

Tariff legislation, importance of » 31 

Tchihatcheft, M., memoir on Angora goat 86 

Tilebert, M., flock of 16 

Tour d'Aigues, M. de la, observations on breeding the Angora goat 93 

Tournefort, M., description of the ancient city of Ancyra and the goats of Angora 94 

Turkey, fabrics of 19 



INDEX. 143 

U. 

Page. 

United States, number of sheep per acre 6 

annual production of wool 18 

future sheep husbandry 15, 16 

Ure, Dr. , on the habits of the silk weavers of Lyons 37 

Utrecht velvets, manufacture of, in France 1 03 

V. 

Value of woollen goods manufactured in the United States in 1864. Table 123 

Verviers, production of 60 

wages of workmen in 61 

Vesey, Mr., facts by, on the production of Aix-la-Chapelle 61 

Villeneuvette, peculiar customs in '. . . 52 

W. 

Walworth, Mr. Joseph, letter of 1 1 8 

Washington Mills, medal awarded to 24 

Water, use of, in the manufacture of woollen cloth 1 32 

Webster woollen mills, S. Slater & Sons, medal awarded to 24 

West of England, fabrics of 19 

West Riding of Yorkshire, advantages of, for woollen manufacture 62 

manufactures of 62 

cost of living and wages in 64 

Woollen industry of Europe 32 

manufactures in Europe 17 

Worsted wools, where grown 119 

manufactures of England 118 

United States 1 19 

"Wrinkles on" Merino sheep, objections to 77 

Y. 

Yolk, development of 10 

increase of, in American Merino 76 

Youatt, Mr., observations of, in regard to the breeding of horses 92 

Zollverein, wages of workmen in 61 



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